* * *1/2 out of 4.

Rating: Null/10 (8 August 2002)

Young man (Jared Leto) desperately seeks the approval of his girlfriend's (Jennifer Connelly) parents and resorts to becoming a drug dealer in order to raise quick cash with his best friend (Marlon Wayans). However, he soon find himself addicted to the drugs he sells and begins to ruin the lives of all of those around him, especially neglecting his mom (Ellen Burstyn) who in turns gets addicted to diet drugs.
Hard hitting, extremely painful and hard to watch film features excellent performances from the entire cast, especially Burstyn, and some of the most graphic and disturbing images to ever hit a theater screen. A real downer, but a powerful, haunting, and extremely important movie that should not be missed by anyone. Only complaint is, given the material the direction should not have been quite so stylized.
Unrated; Violence, Strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Profanity, and Strong Adult Themes.