Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Film Review

Director: Adrian Lyne
Cast: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Sometimes, despite great reviews and wonderful word of mouth, a film simply passes you by. That was certainly the case for me when it came to Jacob’s Ladder.

I was probably slightly too young to see it at the cinema when it was released in 1990, but over the years, various friends have recommended it, and yet I’ve never gotten around to watching it – until being offered a chance to view Studiocanal’s 4K restoration of Adrian Lyne’s psychological thriller, the latest release in the company’s Cult Classics range.

Dominating the production is a young Tim Robbins, then on the cusp of stardom. He plays Jacob ‘Jake’ Singer, who we first meet while he’s serving in Vietnam. While his platoon is being attacked, Jake realises that something isn’t quite right – his compatriots are suffering seizures as if they have been drugged. Jake himself is then stabbed – the next time we see him, time has skipped on a few years and he’s living in a rundown apartment block in New York with his girlfriend Jezzie while working for the US postal service.

“Complex, emotional”

“We then learn that Jake was once married and had three sons, one of whom was killed before he shipped out (and is portrayed in flashbacks by a pre-fame Macaulay Culkin). The grieving father is still dealing with the loss, and his mind is about to become even more tormented by a series of disturbing hallucinations.

Just as he begins to think he’s going mad, Jake is contacted by a former comrade who claims he’s seeing the same ‘demons’ – and it seems that other veterans they know are too, prompting Jake to embark on a search for the truth.

Frankly, there’s a lot more to the plot, but to say anything else risks giving away the incredible plot twist – screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin, then on a career high after penning the blockbusting Ghost, deserves a huge pat on the back for creating such a complex, emotional, frightening and gripping tale.

“Even better”

Robbins is simply superb in the lead role, arguably delivering a performance that’s even better than his Oscar-winning turn in Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River. He’s ably supported by Elizabeth Peña as Jezzie, with the likes of Danny Aiello, Ving Rhames, Matt Craven, Jason Alexander and Eriq La Salle popping up in small roles.

Plaudits also go to director Adrian Lyne; Jacob’s Ladder was his follow-up to Fatal Attraction but, incredibly, it didn’t receive anywhere near as much critical or commercial success as that bonkbuster. It certainly deserved to, but instead has to make do with being declared a cult classic.

The only juicy special feature is a retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Robbins, Lyne and Rubin, but it’s essential viewing for fans.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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