Asphalt City

R

Released Mar 29

2h 5m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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List

42%

45 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

Audience Score

Asphalt City follows Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan), a young paramedic assigned to the NYC night shift with an uncompromising and seasoned partner Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn). The dark nights reveal a city in crisis; Rutkovsky guides Cross, as each 911 call is often dangerous and uncertain, putting their lives on the line every day to help others. Cross soon discovers firsthand the chaos and awe of a job that careens from harrowing to heartfelt, testing his relationship with Rutkovsky and the ethical ambiguity that can be the difference between life and death.

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Critics Consensus

Asphalt City can be commended for trying to highlight the unforgiving nature of EMT work, but the unrelentingly grim end results prove a punishing watch.

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Brian W

Powerful film about the forgotten heroes.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

Full Review

Serena

I truly didn't know what paramedics go through being first responders. Made me appreciate all first responders so much more than I already do. It was a good movie but a bit depressing too.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/04/24

Full Review

Mr. Hollywood

Was promising but missed the mark. It started out promising enough but then added a storyline that was not needed. Feels like they were not happy with showing a regular EMT they had to go the movie route where someone is accused of a murder. They should have stuck with just showing the hard and easy and bad and good life EMTs have

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/04/24

Full Review

Oleksandr G

Dark, grim, but still one of the best indies released this year. Outstanding acting by main actors

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

Vanessa S

It had potential but was just so slow. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Fantastic acting. Watching this movie made me realize just what our EMT’s go through. I have all the respect for them now. Also, I can see where some would step over that fine line between being a hero and being a God after so many years of doing that type of work.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/24/24

Full Review

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Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Director

Sean Penn

Gene Rutkovsky

Tye Sheridan

Ollie Cross

Gbenga Akinnagbe

Verdis

Michael Pitt

Lafontaine

Katherine Waterston

Nancy

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85%

72%

The Wonder

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0%

22%

John Henry

88%

64%

The End We Start From

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66%

60%

Crisis

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for Crisis

87%

42%

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Despite the director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire throwing everything at the screen, the star is frequently sublime in a brutal and unrelenting film.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 22, 2024

Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

Grabs you by the throat about four or five times, but then you got all that other space, where we gotta talk about our feelings.

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

I found this gloomy, gloomy, gloomy, and it made me sad because I like Tye Sheridan as an actor. This movie isn't doing him any favors.

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…an extreme film, hard to watch at times, but with less of the self-appointed poetry of Martin Scorsese’s Bringing out the Dead and a darker, more nihilistic streak that sticks in your mind…

Rated: 3/5

Apr 16, 2024

Full Review

Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

Despite a corny ending that fizzles with clichéd dark drama tropes, I really loved the majority of the film and its nightmarish, gruesome look at the gritty reality of paramedics navigating the chaos and violence that beats beneath America’s urban jungle.

Apr 8, 2024

Full Review

Monique Jones

Common Sense Media

What sadly takes center stage is how much the film seems to want to make paramedic work seem as unattractive and uninspirational as possible.

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

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Synopsis

Asphalt City follows Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan), a young paramedic assigned to the NYC night shift with an uncompromising and seasoned partner Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn). The dark nights reveal a city in crisis; Rutkovsky guides Cross, as each 911 call is often dangerous and uncertain, putting their lives on the line every day to help others. Cross soon discovers firsthand the chaos and awe of a job that careens from harrowing to heartfelt, testing his relationship with Rutkovsky and the ethical ambiguity that can be the difference between life and death.

Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Producer: James Masciello, Matthew Sidari, Mitchell Zhang, Luke Rodgers, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, Jamie Buckner, Shannon Burke, Babak Anvari
Screenwriter: Ryan King, Ben Mac Brown
Distributor: Roadside Attractions / Vertical
Production Co: Two & Two Pictures, Sculptor Media, AZA Films, Projected Picture Works, Force Majeure
Rating: R (Violent Content|Pervasive Language|Graphic Nudity|Disturbing/Bloody Images|Sexual Content|Suicide)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $216.9K
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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