A Pound of Marijuana and a Line of Blow

Rating: Null/10 (28 October 2011)

Cocaine trafficking is a tough business to get into and an even tougher one to get out of. The 1980s became a time when cocaine use grew rampant across the United States. George Jung was at the heart of the Cocaine industry. George Jung's life has been depicted by Johnny Depp in the movie Blow, directed by Ted Demme. While the movie ends on a bleak note of infidelity and botch, this movie is not your typical drama. The movie is only superficially about drugs. It's about one man's choices throughout life. How he chooses to escape poverty and ultimately how he falls to his bottom. George only wants to be a good husband and a good father, much like his father was growing up. The movie opens immersed in the childhood of George Jung. The coarse and dull images of this time captured an era before drugs, when everything was wholesome. George witnessed his parents' difficulties with finances and their shaky relationship. He escapes New England with his best friend, Tuna, and resides in Manhattan Beach, California. The liberal Californian ideas of the '60s and '70s soon swept George and Tuna into the Marijuana business. They establish a connection with a local hairdresser, Derek, who also transpires to be the main supplier of marijuana for the area. What started as small and local deals soon spread to mass transactions across the country. Jung was moving kilos from coast to coast with the help of his girlfriend, Barbra, who happens to be an airline stewardess. Acquiring large amounts of marijuana from the U.S. was nearly impossible; George chooses to go beyond Derek and get pot direct from Mexico. He and his partners were making anywhere from $50,000-$100,000 per month. However, great rewards do not come without great risk. George is soon arrested in Chicago with 660 pounds of marijuana. He is sentenced to 26 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. During his sentence he befriends his cellmate Diego Delgado. Diego has connections to a cartel in Columbia; and introduces George to the ins and outs of the cocaine industry. After getting out of prison, George and Diego are soon at the center of the cocaine business. George reconnects with his old partner, Derek, to help him distribute this new drug. With the work of his cartel and his friend Derek, he becomes the top importer of cocaine into the U.S. His new found success is short lived, his partner, Diego, cuts him out of the business. George vows to leave the industry for good. He cleans up his act and stays sober. Staying out of the business proves to be harder than expected and soon enough George is knee deep in cocaine. Johnny Depp's role of George Jung could not have been better. His ragged long hair and seventies apparel really captured the image of Jung. Depp was such a front-runner for this role because of his ability to look so similarly to his character. His part was very easy to empathize with, because he wasn't portrayed as a bad guy. Sure, he sold drugs and did drugs, but he was a kindhearted individual. He just wanted the best for his wife and daughter, and to be the type of father that he had growing up. Kristina Jung is played by Emma Roberts, for her early life, and Jaime King later on. Kristina is a shy and hesitant girl, but she is not afraid to speak her mind. Katrina quietly watches, as her mother and father get high of cocaine and other substances. After her family has fallen apart as a result of cocaine, she has a falling out with her father. George becomes devastated with his lost connection with his daughter. He is ashamed of himself for not being the type of father that he had when he was a kid. George has grand plans to make it up to Katrina, even in prison he reaches out to her. Blow has a very seventies feel to it. The cinematography was excellent, and certainly placed you in the time period. The freeze frame imitations and precarious magnifications make the flick feel like an Austin Power's movie, in a camera-work sense. The film seems a bit short budgeted, but it gives the movie a more realistic feel. There are not any intense action scenes or computer animated explosions that enhance this movie; instead Blow offers an The fast paced editing and visual appeal provide a simpler view on the drug trade. The costumes in this movie bring the film to a whole new level. The flashy shades, aviators, turtlenecks, and track jackets create a visual appeal to the movie and a very important trait. The film also had a very effective soundtrack. Songs from artists such as the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynrd certainly grasp the time period and add to the "rock star " lifestyle that George Jung was leading. Director Ted Demme chooses not to take a side on Jung's life. He doesn't denounce George for his lifestyle nor does he glorify it. He simply tells the story how it is. This provides an interesting aspect to the film because it allows the viewer to choose how they feel about it. Viewers get the chance to sympathize with Jung or condemn him for his life in vice. Maybe that's why I like this film so much, because in the end I get to take the stand on how I relate to the movie and how I relate to George. I almost feel sorry for George, regardless of that fact that he was a drug dealer. Jung was nothing more than a kindhearted person who wound up pursuing the wrong dream. He got mixed up in the drug world and made choices that ultimately brought his life to an end. The film had an excellent storyline, phenomenal acting, and was a well-directed film. Johnny Depp undoubtedly outdid his role once again.