Jacob’s Ladder 9/10

Jacob’s Ladder (R) 1990
Reviewer’s Tilt (8)
Suspense-116min
Special DVD Features worth a look- Making of" Featurette

Jacob’s Ladder is the story of Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins), a Vietnam vet who goes on to obtain his PhD and settle into sedentary life as a mailman. Having lost his young son, being bayoneted in Vietnam, and divorcing his wife, Jacob tries to make sense of his life as it unravels years later. His angst over unresolved past issues leads to horrible dreams, disturbing flashbacks and unsettling visions. Jacob’s girlfriend, Jezzie (short for Jezebel) (Elizabeth Pena), is a sexy co-worker, deeply in love with Jacob, but trying to help him put his disturbing past behind him. As Jacob tries to piece together the horrible scenes of drug-induced violence and carnage during his last days “in country,” he comes to the conclusion that there is a military conspiracy to keep him quiet about what happened.

Not until Jacob climbs all the way down this ladder of madness is he able to begin his ascent. The movie reflects numerous religious and spiritual philosophies. In the Bible, the ill-fated Tower of Babel was a man-made attempt to rise up to God. Jacob’s Ladder was the stairway God used to communicate with Man. The moral is that you cannot communicate with God on your terms; you must do so on his. In the Bible angels and demons, as well as lost souls used the ladder to ascend into heaven or descend into hell.

In the film, director Adrian Lyne proclaims that your perspective determines whether demons lead you down the ladder or angels lead you up. As written in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, however, at death the soul cannot release from the body until the soul reconciles the decedent’s life. Until this time, the soul experiences realistic demons which are actually ethereal reflections of the soul’s own inner self. The demons are actually no more than the disembodied consciousness symbolically expressing its psychic conflicts. Seen in this light, the demons are really angels, assisting the soul with reconciliation and release.

Lyne juxtaposes the Christian key to heaven, God’s forgiveness, against the Tibetan key to peace, self-forgiveness. In making sense of his life, Jacob must reconcile many ladders. Grief, drugs, posttraumatic shock, metal illness and death are the ladders he must climb or descend. Ascension leads to closure and growth, while descension leads to continued pain. Why then does Jacob not simply start up each ladder? Lyne provides a uniquely disturbing window into Jacob’s motivations. In one particularly notable scene, Jacob becomes trapped in the subway. Jacob tries to take the stairs out, only to find them barricaded. It is not until he first descends and reconciles his fears, which he is then able to rise out of the “tomb.” This truly disturbing movie is difficult to follow, but rewards close attention and multiple viewings with a profound message.

Format: Color, Widescreen Anamorphic, Closed captioned.
Sound: (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Extras: Director commentary, "Making of" featurette, deleted scenes, production notes, cast and crew bios, trailer.