Customer Reviews
Drug addiction is in the social behavior of the addict - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 13 Jul 2008 
One gets addicted to drugs, for sure, but that is only a smalll part of the business. This film tries to show how the addiction is an attitude, a social behavior, an act of belonging to a group, a community, a social class nearly, but not that far away from it. Here the dependence is threefold. First the girlfriend who is determined to stay addicted because her addiction is moderate enough to be controlled. Then the boyfriend & his own girlfriend & this time there is some status question here & to go on is to belong to a certain level of humanity, a certain level of masculinity. And then there is the wider community of the junkies, dealers & other characters in that farcical, yes farcical, melodrama. Then there are various events that make that addiction stick. The solidarity with the girlfriend with whom he was arrested, busted & jailed. He owes her to go on. Then the boyfriend who is the guarantee that he is normal, a normal male, a real male, a male in one word full stop & period. The cops are chasing them, & bad events happen. The boyfriend's girlfriend dies of an overdose one night in total solitude, while a burglary attempt in the pharmacy of a hospital fails pitifully & patheticallly, & they have to get rid of the body & bury her in some woods. That makes you stick to your addiction, to your group. And yet, out of boredom & tiredness, & since one of the group has stepped out & down, he decides to do the same & get out of the hassle it has alll become. And then you find out very easily how the wider social group is catching upon him. Two of his old acquaintances, now he is isolated, try to get his stash of drugs, since they are convinced he has one, they refuse to believe he has quitted, & then since they are getting nothing & nowhere they decide to shoot him dead, which they fail doing because they know nothing about using fire-arms. And there we are in the ambulance taking him away. Will he tell who attacked him or not? Will he go back to that world & that habit? We cannot know & say right away, right now. But one thing is sure. If he goes back it would not be for the physiological habit, but for the social & maybe emotional habit. Drug addiction is first of alll in the mind & in the social behavior of the addict, not in his physiological parameters.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
excellent movie - By: F. Panin, 23 Aug 2007 I was not expecting it, but this is probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is well played, hard scenes are not too hard (therefore avoiding shocking some sensitive people), however the message is given with full strength. It is much more than a road movie. My wife & I have liked it more than later Gus van Sant movies. Additionallly, it makes you think. I will buy now the novel from which it has been adapted.
Just Say No. - By: Tanya, 08 Nov 2002 Matt Dillon & girlfriend Kelly Lynch head a working team of drug addicts who are just trying to keep one step ahead of reality. The beauty of this film, apart from the excellent performances, is it's original approach & deeply personal feel. These are people we alll know, not just nameless junkies lying in a doorway somewhere & even as things seem to be running along smoothly, the sense of impending doom is palpable. Original direction & an insightful script with no easy answers make this an alll round great film. Look out for William S. Burroughs in a class cameo.
Classic cult film. - By: Jason Parkes, 30 Mar 2002 ...Gus Van Sant's film is fantastic- imagine a fusion of 'Jesus's Son', 'Junky' & 'The Man with the Golden Arm' & you're close...This is wonderfully shot, the halllucinations & effects on-screen are wonderful (much better than the silly 'Trainspotting'). The hypo-injection scenes appear to have found their way into 'Pulp Fiction'!!! Matt Dillon is great- as are the supporting cast: James Remar, Kelly Lynch, Heather Graham, Max Perlich etc...There are lots of funny moments (the hat hex, the dog flashback) & moments when you see the attraction of drugs. And 'The Priest they callled him', William S. Burroughs pops up as a junky ex-priest!...1989 was a watermark year in American cinema- giving us 'Goodfellas', 'Heathers' & this...This is probably Van Sant's best film, though I have an affection for 'My Own Private Idaho' & 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'...At this price this is a must own film- as great as 'Performance', 'Two Lane Blacktop' & 'Vanishing Point'. A great cult film.
