Reasons Why this is a Superb Movie
I have seen some polarizing comments but I wanted to go over why I think this movie is superb (deserving of more than good). I have watched the film 3 times and enjoyed it more and more each time.
The main reason I think this is the themes were done so well. Symbolism of flowers through the dialogue choices and constant subtle clues towards the ending brought about the thematic contrast of growth of life versus decay of self and society.
The art style was amazingly effective, creating a hallucinatory glaze over the entire story which was designed to entice you into the same state the characters were. The entire story is set realistically but is constantly pushing to the edge of imaginary.
The contrast between imaginary and real blurs the further the movie goes and draws the story and audience into a mess of suspense meant to leave us guessing towards the end. Partially for the story effect, it is also a powerful message about the illusionary effects drugs can create about life, especially paranoia and fear.
The movie is all about emotional and societal contrasts. Outside of reality vs. illusion and growth vs. decay, the idea of happiness vs. depression is more subtle yet still sensed throughout the movie. All of the main characters show signs of intense depression and bleak outlooks towards life.
My absolute favourite part of the movie is the characters and dialogue. Yes, Keanu Reeves is a pretty bad actor, but having to play a gassed-out drug user pushed to the edge worked well as the character was meant to be empty of feeling at this point. The most important part about the dialogue is it felt realistic, it felt like these are things that heavy drug users would be involved with, what they would say, and how they would react. Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jr. and Rory Cochrane pulled this off perfectly.
And I think what I like most about the ending is the emotional value. The entire story was written a dedication to the people he lost to drugs and this representation of the fight to hold onto reality while becoming immersed in depression and illusion feels very real to someone who understands addiction.