More heady crime drama offers unique perspective on drug-dealing

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2009)

In the tradition of "Scarface," "Blow" is a rise-and-fall or rags-to-riches of a notorious drug dealer story. Though George Jung was never poor, his seemingly implausible quick shot to the top of the American drug market with first marijuana and then cocaine is indicative that he was simply nothing without the drugs. But unlike Tony Montana, George Jung is a much more enigmatic main character. It's hard to understand his motivations for what he does or the reasons he risks everything to continue his work. That's part of what makes "Blow" compelling but it's also part of what holds it back from becoming a truly compelling biography.
"Blow" starts from the beginning, showing George's relationship with his father (Ray Liotta) and then goes right away into George's introduction to marijuana on the California coast where he's played by Johnny Depp, whose versatility continues to amaze in this role. We don't fully grasp his depiction of George, but we see some very human moments that are easy to latch on to because he's so talented. The film then continues to go through George's life as he becomes a key player in drug smuggling and finds quite a bit of success for himself which of course is followed by some jail time and then the cycle repeats.
There's nothing revelatory about the drug business in Ted Demme's film, it's more his character that makes it unique. People double-cross each other, it's dangerous, there are beautiful women involved ... nothing surprising. The difference is that George doesn't ever seem inherently bad and this is Demme's intention and it works. Normally we want to associate a drug dealer with corruption and a twisted sense of morality, but George is just an ambitious guy hoping to make a lot of money with no care about the consequences. You want him to answer for his illegal activities but your gut doesn't give you a good explanation for why. George's ideas about life eventually get tested, especially later in the film when a wife (Penelope Cruz) and child come into the picture, but otherwise the reason "Blow" can argue it's not another drug film is because it doesn't claim to say what's right or wrong about illegal drug trafficking.
It's the film's best characteristic, but it also keeps it from leaving a distinct impression. There's just not enough freshness to the subject and despite being based on a true story, George isn't that fascinating of a character. If you like slightly more complex crime dramas where mystery and suspense are not the primary vehicles of entertainment (or in this case complete non-factors), "Blow" will offer what few other films do.