From Director-Producer Michael Bay comes 'Ambulance’.
Over one day across the streets of L.A., three lives will change forever. Decorated veteran Will Sharp (Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is desperate for money to cover his wife's medical bills. He asks for help from the one person he knows he shouldn't – adoptive brother Danny (Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal).
Instead, Danny offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history. . . $32 million. With his wife's survival on the line, Will can't say no.
Things go spectacularly wrong and the brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González) on board. It's a race that never stops as Will and Danny attempt to evade a city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive and try not to kill each other.
Jake Gyllenhaal reveals more about the film.
You choose your projects very carefully. What appealed to you about 'Ambulance'?
I think that, particularly within the action genre, it is very important for the film to be sound and solid. The foundation of it has to make you feel like there is enough for you to hang your character’s hat, and 'Ambulance' worked from the second I read it. Also, I have wanted to work with Michael Bay for a long time because his movies really excite me, and I was so down for some fun. I liked the idea of putting three different characters with very different intentions in a very small space, going a hundred miles an hour, as there is something particularly exciting about that.
So, what kind of a man is Danny Sharp, your character?
Danny Sharp is a complex human being. He grew up in a family where bank robberies and heists were sort of normal – which is sad and crazy, but true. He was very close with his adopted brother Will, and I think they both found a lot of comfort with each other in this family that had so much chaos. Then, in the years that preceded Will leaving, they separated. And I think in a lot of ways, Danny is desperate to regain the love of his brother and that connection. So, he is a character that is conflicted. He is used to doing one thing, which happens to be robbing banks, but I think that his intention in the film is to try to reconnect with his brother that he loves very much. Even though Danny is loving, he is misunderstood and misunderstands what love is and how to put it into action.
What do you like about him?
I just like how sort of wacky he is! I think Danny is a lot of fun, and he is unpredictable – which is something I always love in characters, because it leaves so much room to make different choices as an actor. I also like the idea of the audience feeling like they know a character, only to then realise they were wrong. I love playing in that world.
The relationship between Danny and Will is key to the story. How does it evolve throughout the movie?
Will comes to Danny because he needs help. He is struggling, his wife is sick, and he just needs to take care of his family. Will has been pushed to the edge, and Danny – who wants to help him – is his only hope. So, the reason for them to rob this bank is mainly to help Will, which is what drives the film. Then they get into a whole lot of trouble, and it becomes a moral tale about what happens when your intentions are good, but everything goes wrong.
How was it to develop that relationship on set with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Will?
Well, Yahya is just loveable. He is an actor that is curious and asks questions in the same way that I do, as we are always looking for something deeper. And that was fun because it is possible in a movie like this to not ask those questions; but we both knew that the more we dug deeper together, the more interesting the movie would be. Also, he just has such a wonderful energy, as he is so positive, and frankly, that’s what matters the most nowadays. I adore working with Yahya.
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The story takes an interesting turn when the heist doesn’t go as planned and they end up trying to escape in an ambulance with a wounded cop on board.
Yes, they are desperate, and their only way out is in an ambulance. So, they hop on, and that’s where you meet the first responder played by Eiza González. Then the movie turbocharges and becomes a whole different story, as you watch three different people, with three different reasons to get where they are going, all opposing each other.
Would you say that Eiza González’s character – the paramedic EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) Cam Thompson – is in a way the heart of the movie?
When you meet Cam, you realise that she is someone who is also struggling with having an emotional connection to all these very hard things she has to do as a first responder. Her goal is to save the person, but throughout the film she realises that human beings are profoundly complex and full of nuance. Then she starts to develop a relationship with both brothers, which is how she becomes the ballast on which the whole movie can rest itself on. So, you start to see through her eyes that, good or bad, you can care about everyone. Underneath all of it there are these moral questions that make the movie interesting, because as Danny gets pushed and tries to protect his brother and Cam, things start to become even more complicated in regards to his decision making.
You recently worked with Eiza on the animated film 'Spirit Untamed', and now you are both in the very different setting of this live-action thriller.
Well, we played an animated couple in 'Spirit Untamed' and didn’t actually film any scenes together, until we were in a Michael Bay movie in each other’s faces all the time at a hundred miles an hour. I think Eiza is incredible in this role, and we had a good time getting thrown around in a vehicle with sharp edges. . .
Image © 2021 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved
What did you learn about the challenges of getting your job accomplished in the confined space of an ambulance?
There are two answers to that question – our filming versus the hard reality of the job of first responders, particularly someone working in an ambulance. For our work on set, I don’t think I had fully realised what it was going to be like and how Michael wanted to shoot it, or just how hard it is to do one’s job when the stakes are so high. Saving someone’s life in such a small space is extraordinary. I can’t imagine what it must be like truly to be in the shoes of a first responder in an ambulance. It’s so small, and there are so many wires and things around you. The fact that people are able to do it adeptly and think clearly in that space is awe-inspiring. So, shooting a movie like this in the confined space of an ambulance is nothing compared to actually being a first responder doing their job in there on a daily and nightly basis. I have so much respect for those real life workers.
You have worked with some great filmmakers during your career. How would you describe Michael Bay’s style of directing?
Like many of the great directors I have worked with, Michael is searching for what feels present and alive. He shoots with extraordinary operators and a minimum of three cameras in almost every set up, giving him the ability to capture moments, improvise and move around in a fantastic way. I think that energy is infectious in his movies, which is what makes them so alive. I adored acting for Michael Bay because there was no space that was off limits in the emotional world, and also, because he is very upfront, direct and clear – which is something you appreciate as an actor. Sometimes the simplicity of a comment can open up worlds, and that’s what happens with great filmmakers like him.
Image © 2021 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved
And the result is a fast-paced action thriller that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, but that also has heart. What did you think of 'Ambulance' when you saw it completed?
Of course, it is an action-packed amazing ride, but I was really moved by 'Ambulance'. I think it’s what I felt when I first read the script, as it had the potential of having those feelings in it that are portrayed in the movie. And I love who becomes the rightful hero in the end.
So, how do you look back now at the whole experience of being a part of this film?
This is a movie that pushed everyone, including Michael Bay. Also, doing it at a time when all of us in the film industry were concerned about when we would be making movies again, to watch a crew of people excited to be working together in Los Angeles was just thrilling. I had a great time! My first objective coming into this project was to have fun and to bring fun to the people that would watch it, and I believe we succeeded.
'Ambulance' is in cinemas 7 April.
