I went to see this film when it first came out, and recently bought the DVD, which I've watched twice.
What I most admire about this film is its lack of preachiness, as so many American films tend to do (in fact, the only preachiness, if it can be called that, comes from the junkie ex-priest). This film gives us more of a 'fly on the wall' perspective of how these characters live.
One thing it tells us is that not all drug addicts are sick-looking, pus-oozing, rotten-toothed, incoherent, granny-mugging gutter-dwellers. Some drug addicts actually function in society, and some people actually *like* living the junkie lifestyle. They get off on the adrenaline rush of the robberies, burglaries, the whole thing of planning and executing the caper. Sure, the drugs they score are supposed to be the reward, but the satisfaction of "a job well done" is nearly right up there with the drugs.
To look at any of the main characters would not cause "drug addict" to leap into your head. And that's not because it's a film and they're actors. People like this actually exist. Look at how many famous people seek treatment for drug addiction to prescription drugs (drugs are drugs, prescription or not). You wouldn't pick them as junkies, would you? Probably not.
Bob, the "patriarch" of this little "family" of druggies, is very street smart. He is 26. He is highly intelligent, plans meticulously, and is very authoritative in the way he runs things. Bob could've "been somebody", if he'd have used his planning and management skills for a 'straight life'. He loves his wife, Diane, whom he's know since childhood, and the fact that they are married, being druggies in the 'free love' days, says to me that they are traditionalists, in some weird way. But despite Bob's intelligence, he is very superstitious and believes in hexes - so much so, that he plans his jobs around superstitious events.
Bob and Diane have no children, but have two other young addicts living with them, who function as the "children" in this "family". Through the course of the film, they live in various apartments or houses, much better than you'd expect of a group of junkies. And Diane always looks nice, stylish and clean.
In order for us to view Bob as a sympathetic character, he can't go out with a gun or a knife, robbing gas stations and convenience stores. So to keep the group in drugs, lodging, and food, Bob does all the planning for their livelihood - ripping off drug stores, and hospital pharmacies (the Holy Grail, in Bob's way of looking at things). Everyone in the family has a role to play - driver, diversion, thief (Bob's job). While the pharmacist is distracted, Bob grabs anything he can get his hands on. The good stuff gets sorted from the bad stuff (eg laxatives), as soon as they get back to their rented digs. No violence is involved.
It's not really shown, only briefly touched upon in one scene with a rat-like neighbor, but they have to be doing a decent trade selling this stuff, to pay the rent and buy food (no supermarket I've ever heard of allows people pay for groceries with Dilaudid or 'ludes).
And, although it's referred to once, the film doesn't show the nausea and vomiting, and other side-effects (intestinal problems like severe constipation) that can be associated with IV drug use (Heather Graham's character, a drugs "newbie", is told to go take her hit, puke for a while, and enjoy the high). For the majority of the time, we see the characters as clear-eyed and lucid. They appear to be quite healthy.
The police know that Bob is involved in the pharmacy thefts, but cannot seem to pin him down (James Remar is very good here as the detective who's got Bob's number).
Throughout this film, we watch this group of addicts go about their everyday business. We see them hit the road when the heat is on, with Bob and Diane making meticulous plans to send the drugs ahead so that they have drugs waiting for them in every city (thus eliminating the risk of being caught travelling with a big stash).
Despite all of Bob's "smarts", he is ultimately undone by a superstition, which seems to set a chain of events in motion. Through these events, the lives of everyone in the household are changed forever.
The film may gloss over some of the "ugly" aspect of the druggie lifestyle, which can make it appear more like an "alternative lifestyle", than what most would consider a deviant one (this is why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10). Yet despite that, it is not a film that celebrates the druggie lifestyle. It just portrays it as it is, for the most part. The moral judgment is not made by the film, but is left to the viewer (as is Bob's fate, I believe).
What I most admire about this film is its lack of preachiness, as so many American films tend to do (in fact, the only preachiness, if it can be called that, comes from the junkie ex-priest). This film gives us more of a 'fly on the wall' perspective of how these characters live.
One thing it tells us is that not all drug addicts are sick-looking, pus-oozing, rotten-toothed, incoherent, granny-mugging gutter-dwellers. Some drug addicts actually function in society, and some people actually *like* living the junkie lifestyle. They get off on the adrenaline rush of the robberies, burglaries, the whole thing of planning and executing the caper. Sure, the drugs they score are supposed to be the reward, but the satisfaction of "a job well done" is nearly right up there with the drugs.
To look at any of the main characters would not cause "drug addict" to leap into your head. And that's not because it's a film and they're actors. People like this actually exist. Look at how many famous people seek treatment for drug addiction to prescription drugs (drugs are drugs, prescription or not). You wouldn't pick them as junkies, would you? Probably not.
Bob, the "patriarch" of this little "family" of druggies, is very street smart. He is 26. He is highly intelligent, plans meticulously, and is very authoritative in the way he runs things. Bob could've "been somebody", if he'd have used his planning and management skills for a 'straight life'. He loves his wife, Diane, whom he's know since childhood, and the fact that they are married, being druggies in the 'free love' days, says to me that they are traditionalists, in some weird way. But despite Bob's intelligence, he is very superstitious and believes in hexes - so much so, that he plans his jobs around superstitious events.
Bob and Diane have no children, but have two other young addicts living with them, who function as the "children" in this "family". Through the course of the film, they live in various apartments or houses, much better than you'd expect of a group of junkies. And Diane always looks nice, stylish and clean.
In order for us to view Bob as a sympathetic character, he can't go out with a gun or a knife, robbing gas stations and convenience stores. So to keep the group in drugs, lodging, and food, Bob does all the planning for their livelihood - ripping off drug stores, and hospital pharmacies (the Holy Grail, in Bob's way of looking at things). Everyone in the family has a role to play - driver, diversion, thief (Bob's job). While the pharmacist is distracted, Bob grabs anything he can get his hands on. The good stuff gets sorted from the bad stuff (eg laxatives), as soon as they get back to their rented digs. No violence is involved.
It's not really shown, only briefly touched upon in one scene with a rat-like neighbor, but they have to be doing a decent trade selling this stuff, to pay the rent and buy food (no supermarket I've ever heard of allows people pay for groceries with Dilaudid or 'ludes).
And, although it's referred to once, the film doesn't show the nausea and vomiting, and other side-effects (intestinal problems like severe constipation) that can be associated with IV drug use (Heather Graham's character, a drugs "newbie", is told to go take her hit, puke for a while, and enjoy the high). For the majority of the time, we see the characters as clear-eyed and lucid. They appear to be quite healthy.
The police know that Bob is involved in the pharmacy thefts, but cannot seem to pin him down (James Remar is very good here as the detective who's got Bob's number).
Throughout this film, we watch this group of addicts go about their everyday business. We see them hit the road when the heat is on, with Bob and Diane making meticulous plans to send the drugs ahead so that they have drugs waiting for them in every city (thus eliminating the risk of being caught travelling with a big stash).
Despite all of Bob's "smarts", he is ultimately undone by a superstition, which seems to set a chain of events in motion. Through these events, the lives of everyone in the household are changed forever.
The film may gloss over some of the "ugly" aspect of the druggie lifestyle, which can make it appear more like an "alternative lifestyle", than what most would consider a deviant one (this is why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10). Yet despite that, it is not a film that celebrates the druggie lifestyle. It just portrays it as it is, for the most part. The moral judgment is not made by the film, but is left to the viewer (as is Bob's fate, I believe).