Climbing JacobLadder.pdf

Climbing Jacob's Ladder A Commentary on the the Film By Bruce Joel Rubin Opening Credits

The profoundly moving work of screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin is bound together by a common theme about death, or, perhaps, on a more fundamental level, the theme of letting go. His first screenplay, The George Dunlap Tape, Tape, which became the motion  picture Brainstorm  picture Brainstorm,, was about a machine that allowed scientists to record the death experience. Ironically, this was also Natalie Wood’s last film before her own untimely death. Rubin also wrote the script for My for My Life, Life, about a man diagnosed with cancer while his wife is pregnant with their first child. The man, played by Michael Keaton in the film,  begins videotaping messages to his future child and discovers himself in the process. Instead of focusing on a single person, Deep person, Deep Impact  takes  takes the theme to a new level by  portraying how people as a whole might behave if they knew the world, threatened by a giant asteroid, is coming to an end. By far, Rubin’s most recognizable work is the surprise hit from 1990, Ghost . The familiar film, which garnished an Academy Award for "Best Original Screenplay" is about a young man gunned down during a mugging who can’t seem to leave his life behind. In my judgment, however, Rubin’s most profound work is his disturbing psychological thriller, Jacob’s thriller, Jacob’s Ladder . The story is loosely based on the Biblical account of Jacob’s dream about a stairway to heaven; " And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angles of God ascending and descending on it."[Gen. it."[Gen. 28:12] It can be said the entire story has a dream like quality, q uality, in which its main character, Jacob Singer, S inger, finds demonic images from his darkest nightmare spilling into his reality. It should not surprise us then, when Rubin tells us how the story  began: It began as a dream: A subway late late at night; I am traveling traveling through the bowels of New York City. There are very few people on the train. A terrible terrible loneliness grips me. me. The train pulls into the station station and I get off. The platform is deserted. I walk to the nearest exit and discover the gate is locked. A feeling of terrible despair begins to pulse through me as I hike to the other end of the platform. To my my horror, that exit is chained, too. I am totally trapped and overwhelmed by a sense of doom. I know with with perfect certainty that I will never see daylight again. My only hope is to jump onto the tracks and enter the tunnel, the darkness. The only direction from there is down. I know the the next stop on my  journey is hell. At that instant I woke up, up, in a sweat, panting. The singular thought in my head at that moment was "What a great idea for the opening of a movie." And so Jacob’s so Jacob’s Ladder  was born.[Jacob’s Ladder, p.150] But the dream doesn’t end here. For Rubin, the experience of writing Jacob’s writing Jacob’s Ladder  was  was itself like a dream. To begin with, Rubin, a student of eastern tho ught, and a meditation

 practitioner, likes to think most of his creativity is driven by something deep inside himself, that place where dreams are born, " I work mostly from intuition and my best work occurs when I trust it to lead me."[Ibid.]

 Jacob’s Ladder  began as an act of faith. I really had no idea where it would go or even what it was going to be about. I only knew that something was stirring deep inside me that wanted to get out and that this script would be the vehicle for it’s release… The story treatment for Jacob came out of my head almost as if I were dreaming it again. It had the richness of a dream, the surreal power of nocturnal imagery. I hardly knew where it was coming from, but sensed I was tapping into something very deep inside me.[Ibid.] The Plot Thickens

So, fittingly, Jacob’s Ladder  begins with a dream, a horrible dream about Jacob’s Singer’s experience in Vietnam. At first he and his platoon buddies are joking and getting high while resting on a Vietnamese hillside. Something begins to go wrong. George falls to the ground and begins convulsing. Jerry grabs his own head and begins screaming and flailing about, bumping into Frank who, afterward, can’t seem to catch his breath. Jacob  begins shouting frantically for a medic when the entire camp suddenly comes under attack. Jacob runs into the jungle only to be ambushed by a soldier who thrusts a bayonet through his stomach. Jacob blacks out, but momentarily awakens on a subway train wearing a postman’s uniform. It seems obvious though, his dream of Vietnam was something that had really happened. You might say, Jacob Singer awakes to Bruce Joel Rubin’s nightmare in the subway. The only difference, when Jacob attempts to escape the subway by passing through the tunnel he is nearly run over by a train. He leaps out of the way just in time, but as the train  passes it appears there are demonic figures staring at him from inside the windows. This is the beginning of what appears to be some kind of psychological breakdown for Jacob. He finally makes it home to his girlfriend, Jezzie, short for Jezebel. This is a Bible story after all. We soon learn the story is replete with Biblical names. In addition to Jacob and Jezzie is his ex-wife, Sarah, and their two sons, Jed, short of Jedidiah and Eli. We learn later of a third son, Gabriel, killed by a car while crossing the street with his bike. Jacob’s life is filled with pain, both the pain of his past, and the physical pain of the present. This  pain leads him to one of the story’s most endearing characters, Louis, a chiropractor  played flawlessly by Danny Aiello.

INT. CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE - DAY

CUT ON A SCREAM to JACOB in a CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE. He is lying on a long

leather padded device that looks like an instrument of torture. LOUIS, the Chiropractor, is a giant of a man, 280 pounds. He is adjusting JACOB’S back. LOUIS Come on, Jake. That didn’t hurt. JACOB How do you know? LOUIS I know you. How come you’re so tense today? During their conversation we learn a lot about Jacob. That he’s working for the U.S. Mail instead of as a University Professor because he can’t get over Vietnam. Although he and Sarah still love each other, their marriage broke up because he can’t get over Vietnam. JACOB What can I tell you, Louis? After Nam I didn’t want to think anymore. I decided my  brain was too small an organ to comprehend this chaos. LOUIS (looking at JACOB with affection) If it was any other brain but yours, I might agree. Relax, this is going to be strong. JACOB I can’t relax. LOUIS Wiggle your toes. JACOB wiggles his toes. At that instant, LOUIS twists JACOB’s neck rapidly. There is a loud cracking sound. EXT. VIETNAM - NIGHT

THERE IS A FLASH OF LIGHT. A MAN rushes at the camera yelling. MAN I found one. He’s alive. He shines a flashlight into the lens creating rings and halos.

CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE - DAY

Suddenly LOUIS reappears, a halo effect still visible behind his head. JACOB God, almighty. What did you do to me? LOUIS I had to get in there. A deep adjustment. Rest a moment and let it set a bit. JACOB I had this weird flash just then. LOUIS What? JACOB I don’t know. I’ve been having them recently. (he thinks a moment, then changes the subject) You know, you look like an angel, Louis, an overgrown cherub. Anyone ever tell you that? LOUIS Yeah. You. Every time I see you. No more Errol Flynn, okay? Your back won’t take it. You tell your girl friend to calm down if she knows what’s good for you. JACOB Louis, you’re a life saver. LOUIS I know. From this visitation, we begin to understand why Jacob is seeing demons. We rationalize that he’s having some sort of bizarre flashback to Vietnam, the source of all his problems. But then, while walking home from Louis’ office, trying to sing like Al Jolson… JACOB When there are gray skies, I don’t mind the gray skies, as long as there’s you… Suddenly Singer’s song is interrupted as a car spins around the corner and attempt to run him down. Once again, Jacob manages to avoid being run over. And, again, as the car  passes he sees those demons staring at him from inside. That was no dream. Something real is happening to Jacob. He decides to go to Bellevue Hospital, to the "Mental Health Clinic" to speak with his counselor, Dr. Carlson. Instead he discovers Dr. Carlson recently died in an accident, in a car explosion of all things. Later that night, Jacob and Jezzie are at a party together. A palm reader is present, attempting to flirt with Jacob. She takes his hand and begins looking at his lines,

mentioning that his life line is peculiar. "It’s short huh?" Jacob asks. "Short?" The palm readers responds, "According to this you’re already dead." Jacob ends up passing out at the party after seeing another round of demons, accompanied by another Vietnam flashback. Jezzie takes him home to discover he’s running a temperature of 106. She forces him into the bathtub, runs the cold water, and  begins showering him with ice. Jacob passes out again. But this time, when he awakens, he’s in bed with Sarah. After complaining about being cold and closing the window, he speaks to Sarah. JACOB What a dream I was having. I was living with another woman… You know who it was… Jezebel, from the post office. You remember, you met her at the Christmas party. I was living with her. God, it was a nightmare. There were all these demons and I was on fire. Only I was burning from ice. A little boy enters their bedroom. It’s Gabe. Jacob carries him back to bed. All three of the boys share a bedroom. They all express their love to him. Jacob then returns to his  bedroom and tells Sarah he loves her too. This is what we’ve been hoping for, some  peace for Jacob, and an explanation that makes sense of the bizarre nightmare he’s been living in. But Jacob goes back to sleep. After another flashback, he awakens in the cold  bathtub. All the ice is melted now. A doctor is present, "You’re a lucky man, my friend. You must have friends in high places, that’s all I can say." After this Jacob becomes a recluse, shutting himself inside their apartment, despite Jezzie’s complaints. He’s studying books about demons when he gets an unexpected call from one of his Vietnam buddies. They meet in a bar where his friend, Paul, obviously shaken, begins telling Jacob that someone is after him, and that he’s been seeing demons. Jacob is almost relieved, as is Paul, when they finds out they’re not alone. They agree together to try to figure out what’s going on. Afterward, as Paul turns the ignition switch in his car, the whole thing blows up. Jacob is stunned. At Paul’s funeral, several other survivors from Jacob’s platoon are present. After talking they all realize they’re going through the same thing. At last we have the logical explanation we’ve been hoping for. It’s not demons, it’s the military. The military is obviously responsible. The group of men hire a lawyer to help them force the military to tell them what happened. Jacob is horrified to learn later that the lawyer dropped the case after all his  buddies backed out. After failing to convince the lawyer to take the case anyway, Jacob is abducted, forced into the black vehicle that tried earlier to run him down. The men inside, one of them pointing a gun, tell Jacob his last name, "Singer," is fitting, because he talks too much. It’s obvious, they’re not planning on just frightening him, they intend to kill him. Jacob puts up a fight and is eventually thrown from the vehicle. Although he seems to have avoided death, his back has been thrown out again. He’s in excruciating pain and completely incapacitated. A holiday bell ringer, dressed in a Santa Claus suit appr oaches

and steals his wallet. Jacob is eventually taken to the hospital without any identification. He pleads for someone to call his chiropractor, but is ignored. As they take him down to x-ray, the hospital is slowly transformed into a living hell. Jacob’s nightmare has co me true again. The doctors treating him appear to be demons. His pain and their torture cause him to  black out again. Upon awakening, he finds himself placed in traction. All seems hopeless until he hears the familiar voice of his friend Louis frantically calling his name. Jacob responds and in a rage Louis flies into the room to rescue his friend. The hospital staff attempts to stop him but Louis, a bear of a man, threatens to wrap a nearby bar around the first person who tries. He places Jacob in a wheel chair and whisks him out of the hospital. Once safe inside Louis’ chiropractic office, while Louis is working to heal Jacob, the two men share the most profound conversation in the whole story. JACOB I was in Hell. I’ve been there. It’s horrible. I don’t want to die, Louis. Louis continues to work on him. "You ever read Meister Eckart?" he asks. LOUIS Eckart saw Hell, too. LOUIS positions JACOB’s other arm, bends his legs, and then pushes down on his thigh. His spine moves with a cracking sound. JACOB groans.

LOUIS (continuing) You know what he said? The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won’t let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn ‘em all away. But they’re not punishing you, he said. They’re freeing your soul. Okay, other side. He helps JACOB and repositions him. Again he pushes and the spine cracks. LOUIS (continuing) Wonderful. So the way he sees it, if you’re frightened of dying and holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth. It’s just a matter of how you look at it, that’s all. So don’t worry, okay? Relax. Wiggle your toes. After the session, Jacob is able to walk out of Louis’ office on his own. Soon after, he meets Michael Newman, who explains that Jacob and his platoon had been the victims of a drug experiment in Vietnam. He called it "the ladder… a fast trip down the ladder. The  primal fear, the base anger." What Jacob comes to realize from this encounter is that his

entire platoon, under the influence of this powerful hallucinogenic, attacked themselves. They were killing each other. After confronting this dark secret inside himself, Jacob returns to the apartment building he once lived in with Sarah. He enters the apartment and  begins looking through an old shoe box, containing his memories, and the pain he’s been clinging to—things like his dog-tags, and a picture of little Gabe. That’s when Jacob hears music, the melody of the Al Jolson song he’d been singing earlier. He approaches the sound and is surprised to see Gabe at the foot of the stairwell, playing with a music  box. He takes Jacob by the hand. Together the two of them ascend the stairwell and disappear into an overwhelming light.

INT. VIETNAM FIELD HOSPITAL - DAY

Two Surgeons are working on a man. DOCTOR That’s it. He’s gone. We see JACOB with a sort of smile on his face. DOCTOR #2 He looks kind of peaceful. DOCTOR Yeah. He put up one hell of a fight though. EPILOG

In this final scene, we realize the entire story has been the dream of a dying man struggling to cling to life. Jacob Singer never left Vietnam. Like all good tales, the meaning here is clear, the story speaks for itself. But I can’t help wondering if we’re not all like Jacob Singer, dreaming our lives, clinging to an existence that’s no t real. Isn’t this the essence of the Buddha’s teaching, that life is suffering and the only way to stop suffering is to stop clinging to our illusions? On his death bed, at age 80, the Buddha is reported to have said, "O disciple, everything created must perish. One must separate from everything one has loved." Another lesson of Jacob’s Ladder  is that we must become willing to face our pain. It wasn’t until Jacob could admit what happened to him in Vietnam that we was able to ascend the stairway to heaven. In the subway, he instinctively knew his only way out was through the dark subway tunnel, but the demons inside frightened him away. This is obviously an allusion to the light at the end of the tunnel those who have had near death experiences often report seeing. But to get to the light you have to go through Hell, through the darkness, through the uncertainty. At the beginning of the story, Jacob isn’t

yet willing to do that. He’s still clinging to his life. " If you’re frightened of dying and holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth."

It’s also worth noting, the original script called for a different en ding in which Jacob does  battle with a giant demonic beast. It was the genius of the film’s director, Adrian Lyne, to have Jacob walk quietly up that stairway holding Gabriel’s hand. Adrian Lyne is the director of whom Woody Harrelson once said, " He’s proof that neurosis works in  filmmaking ." In fact, it was Lyne’s idea entirely to introduce Gabe’s character into the story, despite criticism that it pushed the story so far into depression that it could never recover. But Lyne recognizes the truth that our demons are often the things we love. True we battle demons every time we face our fears, but the greatest fear, the most powerful demon, is letting go of the things we love about life. This is the lesson Jacob had to learn  before he could find peace. I think it’s the lesson we must all inevitably learn.