Jacob’s nights are filled with bloody dreams of Vietnam and tragic dreams of Gabe, his little boy who died in an accident. By day he’s bedeviled by what looks like a cosmic conspiracy: he finds his subway station locked, friends get blown up, demonic apparitions try to kill him. In this psychic whirlwind Jacob can’t decide what is real and what is dream. His only confidant is Louis (Danny Aiello), the chiropractor who makes “deep adjustments” of Jacob’s spine and of his tormented mind. “You look like an angel,” Jacob tells Louis.
No, this is not a dippy movie about angels and demons. And, although it has sequences scarier than anything by Stephen King, it’s not a horror movie. The demonic creatures that assail Jacob have oscillating heads, a dizzy blur of identity like the twisted portraits by the English painter Francis Bacon. Such effects are not mere electronic toys; when the movie’s final revelation comes, everything falls into place with a powerful and moving logic.
Those desperate for a clue to the mysteries of “Jacob’s Ladder” can consult a classic short story of the Civil War by Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (made into a short feature in 1961). Bierce was an ironic pessimist, Rubin is a pop mystic with a genuinely sweet sensibility. Both writers deal with the power of human consciousness to create a reality that transcends the blank finality of death. Rubin’s screenplay is even better than “Ghost” (this year’s surprise megahit). And his writing brings out the best in Lyne, who can chill your blood or send a startling thought spinning into your head. Lyne gets compelling performances from his cast, especially the warm and gritty Pena and the remarkable Robbins. Robbins is no movie hero a la Costner or Gibson; there’s no body by Jake but an appealing schlumpiness that makes him a perfect Everyman. In the midst of the weirdest goings-on of any movie in years, Robbins makes Jacob as real as your heartbeat.
