Black Flies – Movie Review
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire (A Prayer Before Dawn)
Writer: Ben Mac Brown, Ryan King (Screenplay)
Writer: Shannon Burke (Novel)
Cast
- Sean Penn (Mystic River)
- Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One)
- Gbenga Akinnagbe (Knucklehead)
- Michael Pitt (Murder By Numbers)
- Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Plot: Ollie Cross is a young paramedic assigned to the NYC night shift with an uncompromising and seasoned partner Gene Rutkovsky. Each 911 call is often dangerous and uncertain, putting their lives on the line every day to help others.
Runtime: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Black Flies starts as Ollie Cross (Sheridan) joins the NYC paramedic team. He learns quickly how intense the job becomes and the night shifts only create more chaos. Seasoned paramedic Gene Rutkovsky (Penn) takes a shine to Ollie’s commitment and the pair start working together.
As Ollie starts getting into the role, he starts to learn more of the stresses with start to consume him. It affects his life, causing troubles at home and he must learn from Gene how to manage the two worlds.
Verdict on Black Flies
Black Flies is a thriller following a rookie paramedic who gets thrust into the chaotic New York City operations. It shows him the darker side of the job, where the stress starts to consume him. Even if it shows some of the more rewarding moments.
This movie takes us inside the paramedic world where each case is filled with different challenges. It has extremely graphic cases, similar to what real paramedics would go through and never holds back from the reality in this world. The movie does an excellent job of showing the stress involved in the role. Tye Sheridan is brilliant in the leading role and reflects the challenging role his character goes through.
Where to Watch
JustWatch
Final Thoughts – Black Flies is an impressive reflection of a paramedic’s life.
