Melanie and I saw the new documentary “Code Black” Wednesday night as part of the New York Times Film Club, I think it opens this weekend. It’s a bit like the summer TV series “NY Med” which had its first season in 2012 and is coming back this summer. Both the series and the film follow physicians in hospital ERs (for the most part). (The TV show is interesting to me because the first season took place partly in a hospital I used to work for, NY Presbyterian.)
The movie “Code Black” is riveting and you’re in the middle of the action from the top. The term “Code Black” refers to an ER being so backed up, it’s at its most urgent level. It’s filmed at a county hospital in LA which, by design, doesn’t turn away any patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay, and as the film shows you, there are very few hospitals in the country that have that policy, less than a hundred I think.
It’s depressing to see how people without means in tragic situations are shuffled around, but this isn’t a political movie. It’s a film that focuses on several Residents near the end of their training who are wondering what the future holds for their profession, and how they’ll be able to offer the best care in an increasingly regulated environment. (Very heartwarming to see that kind of dedication and I hope they weren't just playing to the cameras.) You learn how their ability to treat patients has changed over the years, not always for the better. You also see a fair amount of expected ER trauma, patients in great distress, and urgent procedures graphically depicted; there were a few gasps from the audience.
Documentaries can lack a neat three-act structure. There isn’t always a linear storyline that takes you to a satisfying resolution. They take what they’re given and make the best whole they can. That’s the case here too. If the film doesn’t have a completely satisfying structure, it still shows you a reality you won’t forget. Melanie and I both loved it.
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