Asphalt City

Play trailer

2:24

Asphalt City

R

2024

2h 5m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

04/22/2024

3/5

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

Go to Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

04/05/2024

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.

Go to Full Review

Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (LAist)

04/05/2024

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.

Go to Full Review

Marta Medina Pérez

mundoCine

08/22/2025

1.5/5

[Asphalt City] is a grueling and exhausting descent into hell aboard an ambulance, making for a fatiguing ride. [Full Review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Eulàlia Iglesias

Fotogramas

01/17/2025

3/5

[Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire] is not able to inject the same complexity and religious sense into a story that ends up bordering on Manichean caricature.[Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

07/26/2024

3.5/5

...this is truly an entertaining film. It says a lot more than meets the eye, and quite frankly, it’s better than it had any right to be. Strap on your seatbelts for this one.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Brian W

04/09/2024

Powerful film about the forgotten heroes.

See more

Serena

04/04/2024

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.

See more

Mr. Hollywood

04/04/2024

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

See more

Oleksandr G

@RT59365000 03/29/2024

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

See more

Deirdre A

@dmoody Aug 25

Not rated highly enough by critics. Powerful performances by Penn and Pitt. All actors were excellent. This dark and honest movie will be a cult classic similar to Bad Lieutenant. I will watch again and recommend.

See more

Horror fan 4

@Horrorfan4life Aug 22

I love how the movie explores the dark side of being a paramedic. To see what these people have to deal with when out on calls. It's a crazy scene and it's not for the faint of heart. Sean Penn is great as always and his partner is even better. There are some shocking scenes and the ending was crazy. Absolutely enjoyed this movie. Tim Treakle

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Director

Sean Penn

Gene Rutkovsky

Tye Sheridan

Ollie Cross

Gbenga Akinnagbe

Verdis

Michael Pitt

Lafontaine

Katherine Waterston

Nancy

Lurker

94%

85%

Lurker

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Lurker

First Reformed

94%

68%

First Reformed

Watchlist

TRAILER

for First Reformed

The Housemaid

74%

92%

The Housemaid

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Housemaid

Master Gardener

71%

53%

Master Gardener

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Master Gardener

Black Bag

96%

70%

Black Bag

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Black Bag

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Asphalt City: Trailer 1

2:24

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

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: Warren Goz, Eric Gold, Christopher Kopp, Lucan Toh, Sean Penn, John Ira Palmer, John Wildermuth, Tye Sheridan, Tina Wang
Screenwriter: Ryan King, Ben Mac Brown
Distributor: Roadside Attractions / Vertical
Production Co: AZA Films, Force Majeure, Two & Two Pictures, Sculptor Media, Projected Picture Works
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Disturbing/Bloody Images|Violent Content|Pervasive Language|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
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings