Absolutely brilliant

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This is a very realistic program that shows the serious risks to a recovering alcoholic/addict (even one who has had a long period of sobriety), of not honestly dealing with all her true feelings during her recovery, not going to regular AA/NA meetings, or not being able to call a Sponsor during high-risk situations. It dramatically shows that if that person doesn't have a tight Relapse Prevention Plan, she has NO contingency plan in place to help her maintain her sobriety. In addition, b/c she failed to have her RPP, she seriously risked her recovery when she decided to help a person still in active addiction to stop her addictive behaviors. By having that person live with her, she failed to take seriously the impact that it could have on her own life and recovery.

This is the autobiographical story of a young girl who gets hooked on crack and worse. At times this is an incredibly painful film to watch as we go through what it takes to live on the street and to get enough money to get that days fix. The performances are more often than not right on and the film can carry you along in rather unpleasant ways. The trouble is that as good as the film is it can, at times, come off clichéd. This is not the first film to depict life of an addict and so some of it seems like we've seen it all before. The film making is at times too polished and it grinds against the grittiness of the story.My rating of 6 out of 10 might be a bit low. Intitally I was more up with the film, however in reading on the film I cam across a few negative reviews and my thoughts of the film have been undergoing a revision due to valid points that were made. Still I recommend the film to anyone who likes real life stories, or independent film making.

I recently rent the DVD and I think it's one of the best films I've ever seen. It's about a young druggie in Lower Manhattan and her friendship with a photographer, who happens to be a former junkie as well. The film is really well written and the lead actress, Ana Reeder is a revelation (well maybe not for me, I had the chance to see her last year in a Broadway play with Laura Linney). What I liked about the film is that while it's almost documentary-like it doesn't exploit the actors (something that has happened in other movies with similar topics), the use of music is very good and there is a monologue at the end of the film that made me cry.

Though I saw the movie not too far from the location of the action, I am not one to judge on the realism of a drug movie. All the same, it had a documentary feel to it as the other comment said, especially the background characters and locations. The lead was excellent. My only problem with it was that the script and some of the acting (the woman who helps her might be based on a real person, but did a real actress play the role? not to be mean, but her performance was a bit amateurish) at times was a bit simplistic and forced.The lead actress, however, made me stay throughout ... a breakout role.