** Stars out of 5
Directed by: Asia Argento
Starring: Asia Argento, Peter Fonda, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse,
Running Time: 97 minutes
Rated: R
Released: 2004
Language: English
Review:
We begin this story with a young Jeremiah being gleefully reunited with his estranged biological mother after years in foster care… Well, maybe gleefully is a bit of a strong term. How about cautiously content... No, I’m not quite there yet am I? Ok, he was terrified, and with good reason as we find out in the next 97 minutes of this feature directed by and starring Asia Argento. You see, unfortunately for Jeremiah, his mom makes Courtney Love look like mother of the year. She controls him with a cocktail of mental, sexual, physical and substance abuse. His pitiful fate is pretty much sealed.
There were a few things I liked about this movie. As disturbing and disgusting some of the scenes were, I was actually suspecting much worse having read some of the other reviews. In one scene, Asia Argento actually plays the part of her son pretending to be her. I don’t really think this was purely an artistic decision. I have a feeling that this was also serving the purpose of saving what little innocence the Sprouse twins had left. Thankfully the most graphic of scenes were simulated rather than shown. I’m not sure if I could have choked this one down if it had been much worse.
The acting by Asia Argento was pretty good here. It wasn’t great but some of the scenes that showed the desperate logic and rage that clouds the mind of a junkie were done really well. I also got a kick out of some of the cameos. Peter Fonda, Winona Rider, Michael Pitt and Jeremy Sisto are all in this film in very small portions.
Unfortunately for this film, there were just too many things I disliked and a few that I outright hated for this to get a good review from me. I will probably be the first reviewer to mention this but, I was thoroughly disgusted with that afro that Argento had in a headlock. Of all things in this film, this could have been the most unnerving and completely unnecessary. I mean, come on, I’ve been to some dive strip bars in my time, but I have never thrown down a dollar for a dancer who looked like she had just given Bigfoot a noogie.
CAUTION – SPOILER ALERT
The biggest problem this movie had was that it quite simply had no soul. It was filled with antagonists and victims. You wait through the entire 97 minutes waiting for someone with a heart to come and save this poor kid from his life. But alas, no such person exists. Even to the very end of the film you feel as though it can’t be over. There isn’t even a light at the end of the tunnel. You are left with a sense that what awaits will just be more of the same, only worse. I really just can’t get behind a movie like this. I’m really not sure even what I just watched. It was far too intense to be a melodrama. There were far too many far-fetched things going on to call it any sort of realism. And a tragedy will always at least give you some sort of closure in the end. This film lacks those crucial elements that allow the audience to get any sort of satisfaction.
Recommendations:
If you are interested in seeing other films that portray graphic drug abuse and its consequences. Look no further than Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting. These both fall under the category of: if you were thinking about trying it, watch this first and then you won’t.
Bonus: (New Feature)
I’ve decided to implement a new feature into my reviews. You see, I like music and sharing my music with others. So, from now on, I will be embedding a song that I think would be appropriate to listen to while reading my review. I will try to make it associated with the theme or an element of the film.
Failure – “The Nurse Who Loved Me”