brace yourself--

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2002)

like having brain surgery with rusty implements.
like watching someone (okay, four someones) skin themselves.
like finding out what 'catharsis' *really* means, the (very) hard way.

the editing is absolutely state of the art.
the soundtrack is an achievement in its own right.
the acting is some of the best each actor has ever done.
and the storytelling, characterization and camerawork are a quantum leap forward from the already harrowingly impressive 'pi'.
there is no way our current ratings system can quantify this movie. I would rather-- however awful the images this movie contains-- a high school student saw this NC-17 movie unedited than an R-rated brainless actioner with a sky-high body count.
to call this film 'anti-drug' is too simple. what this movie really opposes is everything that erodes the capacity for self-determination, from television brainwashing to unethical doctors to racist ganglords.
this is-- there is no question about it-- one of the most disturbing films you may ever see. but like its characters, this movie loves even life's awful dark dreary twisted moments too intensely to look away.