Like Goodfellas and Scarface Combined

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2013)

"Blow" can almost be compared to "Goodfellas" with the exception to the immaculate clothing and the shiny shoes. It has a bit of "Scarface" going for it sans the over-the-top accents. But what this movie has in common from the aforementioned two is that the drugs and the profits are piling on and the humanity is rapidly materializing into one huge mess. From the luscious, warm sunny California sun, to the cold, hard clink of the prison walls, director the late Ted Demme follows the career of George Jung (Johnny Depp) as he becomes one of the leading distributors of cocaine in the United States. Depp took the role by force as Demme felt confident that he was the right man for the job.
His journey was filled with excitement which at the cost came several obstacles in his pursuit of happiness. The more fame he got, the more we see Jung slowly deteriorate in a malignant human being. The most fascinating thing about this movie is the way that Jung lingers on to remain sympathetic especially through these very complex times. He makes poor decisions, he doesn't fully commit to his relationship with his daughter Kristina (Emma Roberts and Jamie King), has no use for his father Fred Jung (Ray Liotta who was the best performer here and the more likable character portrayal) and yet through all his flaws, we still care for this anti-hero. George's rise to demise can be very hard to watch at times and the heartbreaks can leave an after-effect on its audience. The narration from Depp isn't coming from Depp's mouth but from a perpetual observer, we see Jung in a different light, a light coming from a relatively bad person who's still finds time to care for him as we sit back in grief as we watch the foundation of his mind progressively crumble.
His words of wisdom going from being the happiest man alive to being one of the most miserable can be all summed up to what this film's about. Here's a man at his wit's end coming from the worst luck in the world after living going through a hellish ride with poignant features to go with it. His pride and his ambition became his biggest liability which landed in him a 60 year jail sentence. The film is not presented in a cynical way saying that dreams and wishes lead to one's demise, far from that. It's telling us these things happen to all of us in some point in our lives and it demonstrates that just how vulnerable and frail we our as humans and how everyone is capable of causing pain and destruction to ourselves and to other people. It's telling us that George Jung was a jerk and now it caught on to him. However, even people who are not necessarily jerks have fell into dark or even darker holes that Jung has faced. It could happen to anyone who is not careful so all I'm saying is be careful in how you live your life and prevent all obstacles in your way.
So instead of looking at George Jung as an evil druggie, Demme succeeds in making Mr. Jung into a very flawed individual who let fame get to his head oblivious as to what the costs that come with this unexpected rise to fame. During the closing sequences of "Blow", I held my hand to my heart in sorrow. Here was a man who was once a father, a son, and we see everything taken away at him due to his dreams and careless abandon. And even as the movie ends, his spirit wanders on aimlessly and speaks more volumes than the movie itself and in the end his action have faded and his presence is darkened.