Broken Vessels

REVIEW
While it will invariably be compared to Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead for traversing the same territory -- the nervewracking lives of EMT workers -- Broken Vessels is, nevertheless, an astonishing film in its own right. London plays Tom, a guy from Altoona who relocates to Los Angeles to escape a tragedy in his past. Working as a lifesaver, Tom is soon fighting another personal battle when his partner Jimmy (the excellent Field) hooks him on copious amounts of drugs as an antidote to their thankless profession. As Tom and Jimmy descend further into addiction, it is only a matter of time before they crash and burn. Director Ziehl starts the film out episodically before it culminates in its harrowing finale. There is fine support by Zal as Tom's potential girlfriend, and the manic Traylor as Susy, the crazy next-door neighbor who offers the two men drugs and trouble.