Good movie, not great/amazing. But I do think it was a great look at addiction, as well as the mindset behind it.
Instant gratification . I've always felt that I'd be really fucked if I ever got hooked on drugs because I have a problem with moderation. I can't just have one glass of Sunny D, I need 2 or 3; and an hour later I'm already thinking about pouring another glass. That seemed to be the root of the film to me, with everything else being built on top. Also, the loss of hope and the craving of love seemed to be themes. Each character starts with a dream but never achieves it, instead winding up in a crippled (fetal) position. Also each character seeks love and acceptance, either from others or lost loved ones.
Yet this root of disarray and hopelessness is covered by a facade of content and normality, a happy face for those around you. I've lived a lie before, and basically am right now; it eats at you but you still find a way to numb it, pushing it below hoping it won't immediately resurface. There's a powerful scene in the film where Harry's mom is trying to explain her situation and addiction to the television, admitting it's what gets her up every day. It's a vicious cycle: she wakes up everyday hoping for the change then faces the disappointment of reality that nothing has changed by looking forward to tomorrow, over and over again until her weak grip on reality falters.
I
really was impressed by Ellen Burstyn's performance here. And yeah, Waynan's performance wasn't bad at all. I was concerned initially. The guy with the sad eyes was great too, and plus Jennifer Connolley was showing bush, ass, and giving blowjobs. Oscar winning performance, and give her an AVN award too omg
The film is extremely metaphorical and uses various visuals to display them, such as surrealistic dreams. While they were rather obvious I thought they were still well done due to the presentation. And speaking of presentation, technically this is a great movie. The edited was great, especially the quick montage edits during the various addiction consumption scenes. Also it seemed like the camera displayed emotion just as much as it showed it. Various scenes featured hectic, out of control shots to help convey the insanity of what was going on; that goes back to the obvious nature of everything. The score and sound also contributed to this as it deteriorated throughout the film until all that was left was a jumbled mess of strings.
Overall it's a good movie and does a lot of fascinating things but some things felt rushed to me, especially with regard to the drug dealing arc.
8/10plus, finally I have an excuse to be a good business student. I want to go to one of those parties
