un-believable

Rating: 3/10 (5 July 2001)

first off, this movie is a bit repetitive, which is of course on par with the idea of showing people being addicted. (mother likes her chocolates a bit too much first (later on she turns to diet pills), her son and his friends are into harddrugs of various kinds) and all are constantly on the outlook for more of the same kind. the problem with movies about drug-addicts is that however alien their situation may be to a person watching it, the person still needs to feel compassion or have similar feelings towards them in order for the movie to 'succeed'. alas, no such thing here. the main characters (apart from the great acting mother) all look like the lousy but oh so trendy 'actors' you see in commercials or videoclips (there are plenty of references to both, but i can't think of a single one right now that wasn't a cliché or that wouldn't be beaten senselessly by the overall sublimeness of 'magnolia' or the freshness 'trainspotting' had at the time). so, the movie's protagonists are mostly 20+ year olds with nothing on their hands but trying to score and use drugs (and screwing even that simple given up). the characters just don't come alive for me and the obligatory postmodernistic/ nihilistic/ apocalyptic downward spiral which sets in is boring as hell to watch through even though (or just because) the whole thing is cut up much like a flashy videoclip. obviously so to hide the lack of insight on behalf of the makers (though i have to say here i absolutely loved 'Pi', aranofsky's debut which i rate very highly). the crappy finale was partly stolen from kubrick's overrated 'eyes wide shut' and it almost made me laugh because it was so unbelievably unbelievable to see the various plots develop as they did. on a more positive note, the soundtrack is great though, as was Pi's (nevertheless aphex twin would eat mansell any day of the week, kronos quartet or no, but the soundtrack is without a doubt the most intriguing facet to this otherwise one-dimensional fiasco) - go see terry gilliam's 'fear and loathing in las vegas' instead if you want a 'bad trip'. at least gilliam doesn't solely rely on clichés or gimmickry and even when he does, it always shows somehow that he doesn't take himself too seriously or that he uses the right amount of irony / cynicism, something mr aranofsky obviously has yet to master).