| Drugs: On 'em, off 'em, on 'em, off 'em... |
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| written by talltale |
October 4, 2006 - 9:02 PM PDT |
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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Movies about drug users are usually downers (if they're remotely believable) and a little tiresome after awhile. DOWN TO THE BONE, starring Vera Farmiga (recent New York Times Sunday Magazine cover girl likened to a new Meryl Streep), qualifies on both counts, though it is a relatively good example of the genre without being able to rise much above the unfortunate routine-like lethargy that eventually overtakes most of these stories. (One film that did manage to rise above it for me was Gary Winick's "Sweet Nothing," from 1996, which featured exceptional performances from Michael Imperioli and Mira Sorvino and a hot immediacy from Winick's direction and Lee Drysdale's script.)
"Bone" captures well the drudgery of rehab life and Farmiga gives a fine performance as the mom who slips back and forth from trying to failing. She gets good support from Clint Jordan ("Virgil Bliss, "What Alice Found") and Hugh Dillon as the less-than-sterling men in her life. The place (upstate New York) is properly downbeat and the quiet desperation of today's lower middle-class is unsettlingly well-perceived and shown. Debra Granik, director and co-writer (with Richard Lieske) deserves credit for not compromising with the usual needs of the marketplace. Yet, upon finishing this intelligent, honest film, I did hope that I have now seen my last comeback-of-a-druggie tale. |
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