A River of Sadness

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2007)

"Blow" (2001): Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Paul Reubens, Ray Liotta, and everyone else do a fantastic job of depicting the 60's, 70's, and 80's drug trade and its effects. This is the true, Rise and Fall story of George Jung, his ambitions, his successes, and his failures. The time line is laid out in clear, logical steps. You see it coming all along. That's not the point. HE didn't ... and THAT was pathetic...or, if he DID ... THAT is even MORE pathetic. Depp handles the phases of this man's collapse with depth, Cruz leaves you with such a bad taste in your mouth you forget she was acting, Reubens is Reubens, but broader and more sophisticated, and Liotta  so often the Bad Guy  gets the chance to show us he can be wonderful at ANYTHING he does. There's a lot of Glam and Adventure to this story, but underlying it all, and slowing coming to the surface, is a river of sadness.