Disappointment

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I find the film brilliantly written, acted, filmed...more like a documentary than like fiction. It is very likely that you had to actually live through the early 70's to fully appreciate the nuances of the movie.

i thought it was brilliant. the first time i saw it, i was 13 and it really got to me. now i'm 15, and it's not as amazing as i once thought it was, but it's still one of my favourite movies and the best i've ever seen.

frankly, i was impressed and it was better than i thought it'd be. it's not lighthearted, it's not vibrant, it's just stark realism at it's best and it shocks you. it's disturbing. it's not meant to please you, it's not meant to amuse you, or even entertain you for that matter, it's a veritie documentary-style movie. it's basically letting you see the truth and the dirty parts of a heroin addict's life. it doesn't glorify anything, it doesn't lie to you, it just tells it like it is.

i mean, the guy asks his girlfriend to whore herself so he can get a hit. she's bored cuz Bobby won't *beep* her, she shoots up, next thing you know they gotta worry about getting 2 fixes. the junk turns her into a prostitute. Bobby gets Helen a dog, and they're so high and stupid that it runs off the ferry and drowns. Helen rats on Bobby so she can stay outta jail for whoring. what does that tell you about loyalty? it doesn't exist. now, if that doesn't get to you, i dunno what will, and if, by the end of the movie, you're shocked and disgusted, i guess the Schatzberg has done his job.


"Blind respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth"

The reason why I like this film is that it delivers an unsentimental and realistic take on drug addiction. The characters are not supposed to be likeable. You are not supposed to be able to identify yourself with them. At least not in the state they are in at this point. You can't trust an addict. An addict will always put himself and his needs first, as illustraded for example by the scene with the baby crying as well as the scene with the puppy drowning. I think this film shows this in an excellent way.

You've lost your mind. I will always think this is one of his all time best performances.

The movie is brilliant. I've seen this film a few times catching it on Sundance .. etc.

Not a mainstream movie. Totally script driven in excess. I'm very into this type of film and I would compare it to other films such as Candy with Abbie Cornish which is a brilliant film as well.


Kelly: I'm under Evelyn Waugh.
Charlotte: Evelyn Waugh was a man.

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I was hugely disappointed. It was completely unrealistic & just the usual dumb & exaggerated anti-drug propaganda. (like a lot of people who grew up in the 60s, I have nothing but good memories of all the drugs & it was no big deal to stop when I got too busy with other things)