Ladder 49 (2004)

Summaries

 Under the watchful eye of his mentor Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter
Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. Jack has
reached a crossroads, however, as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way
innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.
Responding to the worst blaze in his career, he becomes trapped inside a 20-story
building. And as he reflects on his life, now Deputy Chief Kennedy frantically
coordinates the effort to save him.
 A firefighter, injured and trapped in a burning building, has flashbacks of his life as he
drifts in and out of consciousness. Meanwhile, fellow firefighters led by the Chief
attempt to rescue him.

Synopsis
Ladder 49 introduces us to the life of Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix), a firefighter for the Baltimore City
fire department. Jack is assigned to Fire Station 33 as a pipe-man for Ladder 49. (Note: The pipe-man
holds the water hose nozzle and sprays water onto the fire.) As a new probationary firefighter, Jack is
assigned all the little jobs at the firehouse. Station 33 Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta), and the
other veteran firefighters love to play jokes on the new rookies, including Jack. Captain Kennedy takes
Jack under his wing to make him the best firefighter in the city. Time passes, and Jack is now a seasoned
veteran on the rescue team. Ladder 49 has been called on a four-alarm fire to a burning 20-story
building. Chief Mike Kennedy, his former Captain, is in command of the fire. Jack and the rescue team
brave the fire to rescue anyone trapped inside. They save several people, and Jack continues to search
for others. Jack finds a man and lowers him to safety, just before the floor collapses around him. Jack
falls through the building into the middle of the inferno, and is rendered unconscious. When he
awakens, Jack is able to radio to his men that he is alive. Now Jack is the one who needs to be rescued.
Chief Kennedy coordinates the effort to save Jack. Awaiting rescue, Jack begins to relive his life with his
wife and kids, and his career through flashbacks. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

Reference: IMDb.com. (n.d.). Ladder 49. Retrieved February 15, 2018 from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349710/plotsummary

Ladder 49
The best compliment I can pay "Ladder 49" is to say that it left me feeling thoughtful and sad. I
was surprised it had such an effect. I walked in expecting an action picture with heroic firemen
charging into burning buildings for last-minute rescues. "Ladder 49" has the heroes and the fires
and the rescues, but it's not really about them. It's about character, and about the kind of man
who risks his life for a living. And it's about work, about what kind of a job it is to be a fireman.
The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as Jack Morrison, a fireman assigned to search and rescue.
John Travolta plays Kennedy, his chief. The other guys at the firehouse include Tommy (Morris
Chestnut), Don (Kevin Daniels), Lenny (Robert Patrick) and Frank (Kevin Chapman).

We see them in action before we really meet them. A warehouse is on fire, and people are
trapped on the 12th floor. There's grain dust in the building that could explode at any moment.
Jack and his team charge into the building, and Jack finds a survivor on the 12th floor -- which is
too high for the cherry-pickers or ladders to reach. "Stick with me. I'll take care of you," he tells
the guy, and lowers him out a window on a rope until firemen below can grab him, calm his
panic and return him safe to earth.

The grain dust blows. Jack falls through a hole in the center of the building and lands a few
floors below, stunned, half-buried by debris. Eventually he regains consciousness, and is able to
radio Travolta, who coordinates the rescue effort. It is clear that there's a limited window of
opportunity to save Jack before the building kills him.

The movie flashes back to Jack's first day as a rookie in the fire department, and we understand
what the structure will be: His present danger will be intercut with the story of his life as a
fireman. So far everything in "Ladder 49" has been basic and predictable, by the numbers,
although the special effects and stunt work inside the burning building were convincing. But as
the movie explores Jack's life, it shows an attention and sensitivity that elevates the flashbacks
from the usual biographical stops along the way.

Yes, he's the victim of practical jokes. Yes, he does a lot of after-hours drinking with his
firehouse buddies, chugging beer competitively. Yes, he and a buddy pick up two girls in the
supermarket, and the one named Linda (Jacinda Barrett) becomes his wife. And they have kids.
And some of his friends have bad things happen to them during fires. And he volunteers for
search and rescue. And Linda worries about him, and dreads the day a red fire chief's car may
pull up in front of her house to deliver a man with dreadful news.

As I list these scenes, you may think you can guess what they contain and how they play, but you
would be wrong. The director, Jay Russell, working from Lewis Colick's screenplay, brings a
particular humanity to the scenes; I am reminded of how his movie "My Dog Skip" transcended
the basic elements of a boy and his dog. The marriage of Jack and Linda is not a movie marriage,
but a convincing one with troubles and problems and love that endures. Linda is not one more of
those tiresome wives in action movies, who appear only to complain that the hero should spend
more time with his family. She is Jack's partner in their family, and a source of his pride and
courage at work. And Jack's relationship with Chief Kennedy (Travolta) is complex, too, because
Kennedy worries about him and is not at all sure he should allow him to volunteer for search and
rescue.

After Jack has lost one friend and another has been badly burned, Kennedy offers him a transfer
to a safe job downtown. Jack stays where he is, not because he is a fearless hero, but because it is
his job, and he is faithful to it. There is the sense that the men of Ladder 49 go into danger and
take risks largely out of loyalty to their comrades. Soldiers in battle, it is said, fight not so much
for the flag or for a cause as for their buddies, to not let them down. Russell allows small details
to accumulate into the subtle but crucial fact that the camaraderie of the firehouse is what
motivates these men above all.

The effort to rescue Jack is desperate but skilled. Diagrams are used to figure out where he must
be inside the building. He gives them clues based on what he can see. Kennedy asks if he can get
to a brick wall, knock a hole in it, and crawl through it to a room they think they can reach. He
thinks he can.

The movie is not about a dying man whose life passes before his eyes, but about a man who
saved a life and put himself in danger, and how he got to that place in his life, and what his life
and family mean to him. Because it is attentive to these human elements, "Ladder 49" draws
from the action scenes instead of depending on them. Phoenix, Travolta, Barrett and the others
are given characters with dimension, so that what happens depends on their decisions, not on the
plot. As I said, I was surprisingly affected by the film. After I left the screening, I walked a while
by the river, and sat and thought, and was happy not to have anything that had to be done right
away.

Reference: Ebert, R. (2004). Ladder 49. rogerebert.com. Retrieved

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ladder-49-2004

Ladder 49
Inciting Event: In the midst of an inferno, firefighter Jack is trapped when a floor collapses out
from under him. The film then segues into the main flashback sequence, which starts off with its
Inciting Event of Jack joining Ladder 49 as a rookie. This latter scene is the true Inciting Event,
but notice how tight the timing is by grouping the framing device’s Inciting Event in the same
vicinity.

First Plot Point: After successfully fighting his first fire, Jack meets Linda. Jack’s personal life
is the main plot, and his meeting the woman who will become his wife pushes him into the
Second Act. All things considered, this is a pretty weak plot point—which, in fact, highlights the
major problem in this movie: it doesn’t have much of a plot. Lots of things happen, but because
the protagonist has no overarching goal, there is no strong plotline to pull the story together. His
goal is simply to “keep on being a good fireman.” That’s not an active pursuit of a goal; that’s a
passive continuance of the status quo. Good for life maybe, but not for stories.

First Pinch Point: Jack’s best friend is killed when a ceiling collapses out from under him. This
neatly emphasizes the threat Jack faces—and specifically his own danger in the “present-day”
plot line, where the floor collapsed out from under him as well. It also leads nicely into the
Midpoint.

Midpoint: Jack decides to take his friend’s place in the Search and Rescue crew—which is
much more dangerous than staying with the engine, as he had previously. This Midpoint has him
making a decision that decisively shifts his direction—but again, there is no overarching goal in
sight. He wants to save people, but that’s something he accomplishes day in and day out, rather
than being part of a bigger goal he can work toward throughout the story. The result is a very
flat, episodic plot.

Second Pinch Point: Jack witnesses a fellow firefighter getting his face scalded. His
predicament in the present-day throughline is neatly emphasized when he then tries to explain
the dangers and merits of firefighting to his young son.

Third Plot Point: This is easily the weakest part of the story. We see Jack at a low point as he
questions his commitment firefighting as a result of being shaken up by his friend’s scalding. But
his subsequent rescue of a girl, reaffirmation of his commitment, and reception of a medal from
the city do not turn the plot.

Climax: The movie reverts back to the present-day throughline. Jack manages to break through a
brick wall to get to a control room, where the fire chief is trying to assemble the rescue crew.
However, once Jack gets there, he realizes the fire is too overwhelming.

Climactic Moment: At Jack’s request, the fire chief pulls out the men, leaving Jack to his death.

Resolution: Jack is given a hero’s funeral.

Notes: Other than its lack of plot or subtext, the other major problem with this film is that the
framing device—Jack trapped in the fire—doesn’t in any way answer the questions of the main
part of the film (mostly because there aren’t many). Jack’s death lacks resonance because it fails
to have purpose either within the sequence itself or the overall story of his life.

Reference: helpingwriterbecomeauthors.com. (n.d.). Ladder 49. Retrieved February 15, 2018 from
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/movie-storystructure/ladder-49/

Ladder 49 Movie Review Summary

Actors: John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Jacinda Barrett, Robert Patrick

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Ladder 49

A firefighter, after rescuing a man from a burning building, falls through the floor. He's injured
and waits to be rescued by his fellow firemen.
As he lies there, he flashes back to various times in his life. He recalls his first fire; he
remembers meeting his wife and getting married; he remembers the birth of his children; and, he
remembers his best friend and fellow firefighter dying in a fire.

The fireman's Captain informs him that if he can break through a brick wall they can rescue him
in the adjacent room.
He drags himself to the wall, finds a scrap of iron and begins chipping away. He's able to break
through relatively easily. He crawls through to the next room only to find it engulfed in flames.

The other firemen are unable to get to him.

Accepting his fate, he orders the Captain to pull the rest of the men out of the building. They're
forced to watch the building burn with their friend and colleague still inside.
Script Analysis of Ladder 49
Plot & Themes
Time/era of movie: - 2000's+ (present) Job/Profession/Poverty Story? - Yes Job: - fireman

Main Character
Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality - White American

Setting
City? - Yes City: - New York Misc setting - bar

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Any
profanity? - Occasional swearing

Movies with storylines, themes & endings like Ladder 49

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Aykroyd
FireProof starring Kirk Cameron
The Jazz Singer starring Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Lawrence Olivier
Chef starring John Favreau, Sofia Vergara , John Leguizamo, Emjay Anthony, Dustin Hoffman,
Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johannson.
Afternoon Delight starring Kathryn Hahn, Link Ruiz, Cesar Garcia

Reference: Swenson, B. (n.d.). Ladder 49 Movie Review Summary. allreaders.com. Retrieved February
15, 2018 from http://allreaders.com/movie-review-summary/ladder-49-30492

Ladder 49
Ladder 49 is a 2004 American drama film directed by Jay Russell and written by Lewis Colick. The film
follows Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, who is trapped inside a warehouse fire, and his recollection
of the events that got him to that point. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, and was
released on October 1, 2004.

Ladder 49
 Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jay Russell
Produced by Casey Silver
Written by Lewis Colick
Joaquin Phoenix
John Travolta
Starring Jacinda Barrett
Morris Chestnut
Robert Patrick
Music by William Ross
Cinematography James L. Carter
Bud S. Smith
Edited by
M. Scott Smith
Touchstone Pictures
Production
Beacon Pictures
company
Casey Silver Productions
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
 October 1, 2004
Release date

Running time 114 minutes

Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million[1]
 Box office $102.3 million[1]
Plot

Firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) saves a man's life in a massive four-alarm fire in a
20-story concrete grain elevator/warehouse in the Canton waterfront neighborhood of Baltimore,
Maryland; however the grain being stored in the warehouse explodes, sending Jack falling
through several floors, breaking his leg on landing. The film follows the efforts of the other men
in his unit, Ladder Company 49, led by the commands of Deputy Chief Mike Kennedy (John
Travolta), Jack's longtime mentor, to rescue him while Morrison tries to reach a safe area of the
burning structure. Interspersed with the current rescue efforts are a series of flashbacks showing
how Jack joined the fire department, his first meeting (at a supermarket) with the woman who
would eventually become his wife (Jacinda Barrett), his relationship with his children, and the
bonds he formed and the trials and tribulations he endured with his fellow firefighters.

After graduating from the fire academy, Jack is sent to work on Baltimore City Fire Department
(BCFD) Engine Company 33, in the busiest firehouse in the city. Quartered with Engine 33 is
Ladder Company 49. On Engine 33, Jack learns the ropes of firefighting. He quickly becomes
close friends with his fellow firefighters, including Mike, his Captain at the time. Jack's first fire
takes place at a burning vacant rowhouse. Engine 33 and Ladder 49 respond and are the first
companies on the scene. Jack and Mike enter the building with a hose line and tackle the blaze,
with Jack on the nozzle of the hose. They quickly and triumphantly extinguish it.

After some time working on Engine 33, Jack arrives at the scene of another vacant rowhouse
fire, where a fellow firefighter from Ladder 49, Dennis Gauquin (Billy Burke), dies after falling
through a roof of the building. Jack decides, although it is more dangerous, to take his friend's
position as a "truckie", a search and rescue member on Ladder 49 by transferring to the Truck.

As the years go by, Jack suffers some traumatic experiences, including rescuing a man from the
ledge of a burning high-rise building in Downtown Baltimore, and witnessing another friend and
fellow firefighter from Ladder 49, Tommy Drake (Morris Chestnut), suffer severe burns
following a steam explosion at an industrial building who continues firefighting even after
sustaining such a terrible injury. He finds the work rewarding, but his wife initially worries about
his safety and opposes the change. However, she eventually accepts his new role and even talks
him out of taking an administrative position that Mike, who has now become a Deputy Chief,
offers him.

One Christmas Eve, Jack and the members of Engine 33 and Ladder 49 respond to a burning
apartment building. Jack is able to rescue a young girl trapped in an engulfed apartment, but is
briefly trapped himself before being rescued by a fellow Firefighter from Ladder 49, Leonard
"Lenny" Richter (Robert Patrick). Both men receive the department's Medal of Valor for their
actions.

Back at the grain building fire that opened the film, Jack's fellow firefighters become extremely
determined to rescue him, and Jack does his best to reach the only possible safe area Mike tells
him about. However, upon reaching that room he sees that the only exit is cut off by raging
flames and, out of air and with the heat intensifying, Jack realizes his situation is hopeless. He
radios Mike to pull his men back, so no one else will be hurt while trying to rescue him. Mike
reluctantly agrees, and Jack accepts his fate to die in the fire, devastating Mike.

At Jack's funeral, Mike delivers an emotional eulogy in celebration of Jack's life, which inspires
a standing ovation from friends and family in attendance. Jack's body is then carried to his
resting place, with full honors, on the back of Engine 33 in a typical fireman's funeral procession.
The film ends with Mike and the guys en route to a call while the former flashes back to Jack and
his fellow firefighters going to fires and a final shot of Mike and Jack coming out of Jack's first
ever burning building in triumph.

Cast

 Joaquin Phoenix as Firefighter Jack Morrison, Ladder 49 (formerly Engine 33)

 John Travolta as Deputy Chief (formerly Captain) Mike Kennedy, Deputy Chief 1 (formerly Engine
33)
 Robert Patrick as Firefighter Leonard "Lenny" Richter, Ladder 49
 Jacinda Barrett as Linda Morrison
 Morris Chestnut as Firefighter Tommy Drake, Ladder 49 Tillerman
 Balthazar Getty as Firefighter Ray Gauquin, Ladder 49
 Billy Burke as Firefighter Dennis Gauquin, Ladder 49
 Tim Guinee as Captain Tony Corrigan, Ladder 49
 Kevin Chapman as Frank McKinney, Engine 33
 Jay Hernandez as Probationary Firefighter Keith Perez, Engine 33
 Kevin Daniels as Firefighter Engineer Don Miller, Engine 33
 Steve Maye as Firefighter Pete Lamb, Engine 33
 Robert Logan Lewis as Firefighter Ed Reilly, Ladder 49
 Spencer Berglund as Nicky Morrison
 Brooke Hamlin as Katie Morrison
 Sam Stockdale as Himself
 Paul Novak, Jr. as the Dispatcher
 Mayor of Baltimore Martin O'Malley as himself

Songs

Robbie Robertson contributed the film's theme song, "Shine Your Light". He also composed an
adagio for the end credits. The film also features "Love Sneakin' Up On You" by Bonnie Raitt,
among others.[2]

Reception

Ladder 49 grossed $74,463,263[3] at the US box office and $102,332,848 worldwide.[1]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 41% based on 160
reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Instead of
humanizing the firemen, the movie idolizes them, and thus renders them into cardboard
characters."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 32
critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews.[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film
an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[6]

It received a rating of 3.5 out of 4 stars from Roger Ebert, who wrote: "The movie is not about a
dying man whose life passes before his eyes, but about a man who saved a life and put himself in
danger, and how he got to that place in his life, and what his life and family mean to him.
Because it is attentive to these human elements, Ladder 49 draws from the action scenes instead
of depending on them."[7]

Reference: Wikipedia.com. (n.d.). Ladder 49. Retrieved February 15, 2018 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladder_49