A human tale about a drug dealer

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2003)

"Blow" is one of those interesting films that takes a fairly objective look at an unusual life; in this case, George Jung (Johnny Depp), a major drug dealer in the 70's / 80's. Instead of taking a moralistic view of what George does, it simply focuses on what happened in a semi-realistic manner (well, as real as celluloid can be, anyway). George sold drugs - lots of them at that - and is at least partially responsible for introducing cocaine to the US.
It would be very easy to show George as either a 'hero' or 'villain' in this film. Instead, "Blow" takes the more interesting route of simply seeing things through George's eyes both on the way up and then on the way down. It's a very human narrative; you may not agree with what George does, but it is very easy to see why he does it.
Of most interest to me is the relationship between George and his father (expertly played by Ray Liotta). Instead of chewing his son out for his choices, George's father only wants to see George happy. Although not necessarily agreeing with George's life choices, as a father he is willing to stand aside and let his child live his own life. It is nice to see such a relationship on screen rather than the traditional Hollywood father / son depiction.
"Blow" is well acted with Depp, Liotta and Rachel Griffiths (as George's mother) giving very realistic and measured performances. Although the film does drag at times, it is none-the-less compelling to see the rise and almost inevitable fall of someone in a less than legitimate profession.
As a final note, I have to give special credit to Depp for wearing possibly the worst clothing and hairstyles this side of 90's film-making. Almost without exception each new outfit is worse than the last! It really does add to the realism of the film though - George looks consistent in fashion choices as he ages and it makes sense to the character (ie his fashion taste developed as a stoner in the 70's and stayed there!).