We have seen it all before. We have seen it done masterfully; Requiem for a Dream, Half-Nelson, etc... We have seen it done abysmally; too many to mention. A basically likable character with once good intentions dives/falls into the depths of addiction and the world of horror that inevitably comes with it. Cocaine Angel does not have a shockingly different story to tell. Scott, a once seemingly gainfully, if not boringly employed 20-something, fully entrenched in his cocaine and alcohol addictions, struggles his way through his life in small town Florida. The story is simple, but the telling raises this film into the ranks of its austere predecessors. It takes place over just a few days of Scott's life. They are not the first few days in his downward spiral, and they are not the last. Cocaine Angel is a slice of life, in the most poetic sense. This slice is a metaphor for not only Scott's whole existence but a metaphor for the nature of addiction itself. Damien Lahey's portrayal of Scott, while on one hand almost uncomfortably truthful, is peppered with surprisingly poignant beauty. One moment Lahey as Scott is all ticks and paranoia, fiending for a fix, the next he enthralls with a heart-breaking allegory of his past. Soon to be released for DVD distribution, Cocaine Angel is a testament to true Independent Film.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Copperhead Road
(2005)
Engaging and important film
21 June 2006
I saw Copperhead Road at a film festival in New York City. Amidst a sea of festival favorites - quirky stories about quirky people who fall in love - it was a beacon of originality and truth. A fascinating look into the nature of power and preconceptions of character, the film is able in a mere 15 minutes to give its audience a completeness of story and fullness of character rarely captured in feature length film, much less in short film. Visually, the filmmaker blends the ultra realistic look of hand-held camera work with more stylistic elements. This is done effectively and with purpose; the hand-held plunging the audience into the horror that they are witnessing making them not just see but feel what's on the screen. What is exceptionally effective about this film is that its message is neither forced on its characters nor the characters forced on the message. This is a film about one specific woman and her experiences on one specific night. The comment on our society that comes out of her story is natural and a product of beautifully and brutally honest storytelling. As far as I know, this film is not yet available for sale, but the filmmaker does have a website and is making the festival rounds. If you want to see a refreshingly important independent short get your hands on Copperhead Road.
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