not perfect, but then again what is?

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2001)

I've heard a lot of criticism of this movie, but after a weak beginning to the year and a disappointing summer at best, I feel that this is the best major release I've seen in 2001. The script may be lacking, but it is only one piece of a film making puzzle, and an easily fixable one at that. So what if Penelope Cruz's character seems one dimensional, she's not the protagonist. She has a purposed to serve in the movie and she serves it well. As for Johnny Depp, he is remarkable as usual, and Ray Liotta gives an Oscar worthy performance, the best of his career. But the real reason to see and admire this movie is that it doesn't fall into the trap that most movies that deal with drugs and drug use do: making the characters seem less than human. Many film makers seem to be afraid of being accused of sympathizing with characters involved in drugs and therefore make them caricatures, easily cast aside as getting what they deserve. Ted Demme on the other hand, does a wonderful job capturing these characters humanity (Cruz aside) and really makes the audience empathize with them, especially George Jung (Johnny Depp).