Utterly uninvolving and stupifyingly predictable

Rating: 1/10 (29 June 2001)

I knew practically nothing about this film before I saw it and cared slightly less afterwards.
The story is that of a gradual collapse of related lives. The photography is excellent for sure, but I could have spent my time far more enjoyably and educationally in an art gallery if that was what I had wanted.
The biggest two problems with this film are its transparent storyline and unsympathetic characters.
The first 10 minutes of the film are surprisingly entertaining, but the film that follows fails to capitalise on the dark wit evidenced before. Around twenty minutes later the storyline can only be heading in one direction, which it dutifully does.
No matter how hard I tried (and I did try) I could not manage to muster an ounce of sympathy for, or emotional involvement with, the mother, son, girlfriend or son's friend. Come to think of it, you can see that their names have already escaped me!
The mother's performance is the strongest by a mile, all others mediocre. Rapid flashes of audio and video accompany the shooting-up of drugs, but fail to liven the pace of the story as a whole. And what about the story? I'll get back to you on that one!
Ultimately the movie includes semi-explicit (somewhat implicit) scenes of a sexual and violent nature which no doubt add appeal to some of the younger voters who are scoring this film most highly, but even at the ripe old age of 26 I have seen enough films to know that this is not a genuinely shocking, ground-breaking or classic film in any way but more of a cliché of a genre which is guaranteed to find favour with the unitiated.
I honestly do not think this is a cynically or commercially made film but just a poor one drastically overrated which leaves you feeling more profoundly disappointed than cheated.
Go and watch "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" instead (yes again!) - it's less contemporary in style but with incomparably more immersion, wit and raw impact.