Cannes: Review of Jean-Stephane Navaire’s ‘Black Flies’

In all forms of storytelling – song, film, novel – there must be good pacing. There needs to be highs, lows, and lulls. Too much too soon, or too little too late, or worse – too much all the time, doesn’t suit a story.

Parisian native Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s Black Flies, starring Sean Penn, was too heavy on the highs; it was a high-intensity, high-drama, high-stakes (literally life or death!) repeatedly. It was an intense and well-made drama about EMTs working in Brooklyn that left me feeling like I needed to go on a meditation retreat afterward. The flashing lights, the noise of the sirens, and all the medical-related, life-or-death issues shown onscreen were good filmmaking and draining and gloomy. The film is based on the 2008 book of the same name, which former New York City ambulance driver Shannon Burke wrote.

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Black Flies tells the gruesome tale of two FDNY paramedics, Gene “Rut” Rutkovsky (Sean Penn) and rookie Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan). In a well-casted turn, boxer Mike Tyson lights up the screen as Rut and Ollie’s superior, Chief Burroughs. Sheridan, a relative newcomer among heavy hitters Tyson and Penn, is best known for his starring role in Ready Player One (2018). Rave reviews poured in for Sheridan after screenings of Black Flies at Cannes. The young actor brought tremendous depth and emotion to a very heavy, very heartbreaking role.

Ollie is a young paramedic who is finding his footing in the profession and studying for the MCATs. He lives in a cramped apartment in Chinatown, sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Ollie’s life is limited to work and not much else. He’s a seemingly quiet type without much of a social life, save for a “situationship” with a woman he meets at the club. Later, Ollie hurts her during an intimate moment. She tells Ollie he needs help, and “please stop calling me.”

This is a sad drama. It’s made more tragic by Rut’s story, played by the ever-intense and watchable Sean Penn. Rut barely sees his young daughter; he’s divorced, and his ex has moved on. While Rut plays with his daughter outside, his ex indicates to Ollie how it’s hard to have a personal life when you’re out saving the world. It’s clear from the characters that, according to this film, it’s hard to be an emergency responder in a bustling metropolis like New York City and still maintain a healthy social life. The job gets to your head. The job can take your life.

Day in and day out, night after night, Rut and Ollie – partners in the ambulance ­– see New York residents battling gunshot wounds, drug use, dog bites, and cardiac issues. They try desperately to save everyone, but the job is grueling and emotionally – like the film itself – takes a toll. After the dog bite incident, in a cruel practical joke, Ollie’s coworkers play a mean trick on him involving a dog that has him livid and left the Cannes audience grimacing.

This movie succeeded in eliciting a lot of emotion. In terms of its intensity, it called to mind last year’s Palme d’Or winner, Triangle of Sadness (although the two are very different stories). The film shines a light on the trauma endured by people responding to medical traumas, and stated how suicides among emergency responders, in some areas, lead to higher rates of death than patient deaths. When the paramedics are called to help a woman giving birth who has HIV, it leads to Rut’s literal demise.

Ollie, we learn, became a first responder because he wanted to help people. He tells Rut how he lost his mom when he was younger and how he tragically couldn’t save her. Rut tells the rookie that it’s not uncommon for someone to enter the profession after a parent dies. They share a quiet moment reflecting on the sadness of being able to help almost everyone else – except the person they loved the most.