My first reaction to the film was the above, one-sentence "summary", and that alone. But, as I considered it further, I came up with the following...
This film somewhat reminded me of Requiem for a Dream in that the characters' consequences continued to mount, building toward an uncertain ending at which point the sinners had all gotten what they deserved, as had the innocent, and the main character who was somewhere in-between lost everything but simultaneously was freed of his addiction.
How, you may ask? That last part didn't occur to me until shortly after the movie was over and I began writing this rather short review in my mind. First, after losing everything (mainly his girlfriend in a brutal, abrupt, but expected scene) he had two choices: 1. to continue on his self-destructive path, growing ever closer to oblivion, which seems unlikely considering his morals and values or 2. to pick up the pieces that were left and begin to grow, to regain and re-establish himself. Second, all of his using "friends" were either incarcerated or dead (the two most common ends for the drug user), so his access to the drugs was limited. For me, this gave the movie far more credibility, depth, and meaning than I had originally thought possible.
Perhaps I'm completely mistaken, but considering that I am a recovering cocaine and heroin addict, I think I may have slightly more insight into the subject than many people. IMHO that is, as always...
This film somewhat reminded me of Requiem for a Dream in that the characters' consequences continued to mount, building toward an uncertain ending at which point the sinners had all gotten what they deserved, as had the innocent, and the main character who was somewhere in-between lost everything but simultaneously was freed of his addiction.
How, you may ask? That last part didn't occur to me until shortly after the movie was over and I began writing this rather short review in my mind. First, after losing everything (mainly his girlfriend in a brutal, abrupt, but expected scene) he had two choices: 1. to continue on his self-destructive path, growing ever closer to oblivion, which seems unlikely considering his morals and values or 2. to pick up the pieces that were left and begin to grow, to regain and re-establish himself. Second, all of his using "friends" were either incarcerated or dead (the two most common ends for the drug user), so his access to the drugs was limited. For me, this gave the movie far more credibility, depth, and meaning than I had originally thought possible.
Perhaps I'm completely mistaken, but considering that I am a recovering cocaine and heroin addict, I think I may have slightly more insight into the subject than many people. IMHO that is, as always...