BLOW : Cocaine Dealer's True Story

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2013)

Crime doesn't pay in "The Ref",director Ted Demme's "Blow," a Martin Scorsese-style, biographical crime expose about the real-life rise and demise of Boston-born drug trafficker George Jung. "Donnie Brasco" star Johnny Depp portrays the amoral entrepreneur credited with stringing America out on cocaine as everyday, ordinary, and even honorable. In other words, "Blow" is a far cry from Hollywood's stereotypical depiction of drug dealers as despicable dastards. Moreover, "Blow" treats its convicted protagonist as a saintly casualty of the American Dream, shrewish women, and a self-destructive materialistic society. Veteran moviegoers will spot the allusions to Scorsese's "Goodfellas" , John Glen's "License to Kill" , Brian De Palma's "Scarface". Johnny Depp gives a fantastic performance as George Jung, a real-life drug dealer whose story is embodied in the 2001 film "Blow." Depp also narrates as the viewer is brought through how drugs brought George a life most people only dream of living while it took away the only things that matter.
The story spans 30 years and focuses on George's relationship with his parents (Ray Liotta and Rachel Griffiths), his early marijuana supplier (Paul Reubens), and first crowd of friends and spans his various imprisonments, a shift from marijuana to cocaine, involvements with cartels in South America, his marriage and the birth of his daughter. Ultimately, nobody can gripe that Demme's compelling but depressing film celebrates illegal drug use and the criminal lifestyle. "Blow" opens and closes with references to George Jung's status as a Federal prisoner. Director with Depp weaves a very engrossing story here, that I still believe is yet to get recognition. The last thing I would have expected was for a film like this to bring me to tears, but Depp's final scene does. A sad morality tale, excellently told. Highly recommended. My Rating 8/10