Review #64 of 365
Film: Down to the Bone [NR] 110 minutes
WIP: $9.00
When 1st Seen: 15 March 2006
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter, Denver, CO
Time: 7:35 p.m.
I first remember discovering Vera Farmiga, the star of Down to the Bone, when she played Caitlin opposite of now superstar Heath Ledger in the Fantasy, late 1990s TV show, “Roar”. She also appears in Running Scared (2006). This role as Irene, a drug addict and sometimes wife and mother of two young boys, has been cited as her defining role. I wouldn’t call it a break out role because, while the character does stretch her, it’s not entirely different from roles she has previously played. It is, however, defining in that she is the star of the film from the first to the last frame, and the success of the story sits squarely on her shoulders alone. In that, she is entirely capable with one small deficiency—she is nearly too beautiful, even at her depths of low life, to believe she could sink this low. The film begins by giving us insight into her character as a person that, as much as she might want to love her kids and her husband and her life, her neural wiring is entirely dependent on routine exposure to illegal narcotics with cocaine being her particular drug of choice. How low will she stoop? How about using her son’s birthday check from grandma to try to pay off her dealer? Pretty low. If you have ever needed reassurance that doing drugs is not good, this film will supply it. If Irene’s low life doesn’t deter, some of the people she meets up with in the process will surely convince. In any case, this film is really about the struggle of one woman to regain control of her life, to discover meaning in it, and to find a way to value herself. We never learn why or how she becomes an addict in the first place, though we do find out that her husband is not as blameless as he might seem. What we do learn is that her addiction is so intense that it makes it completely possible for her to forget she has a family at all. We learn that she is willing to sacrifice everything for a fix. Through it all, Ms Farmiga is intense, realistic, and enthralling. Her hard-working supporting cast includes the male nurse Bob (Hugh ‘He’s come a long way from "Degrassi: The Next Generation"’ Dillon) with a penchant for heroine, semi-good for something husband Steve (Clint ‘Sheriff Kelton from The Rage: Carrie 2’ Jordan), and re-hab pal Lucy (Caridad De La Luz). These cast members all do an outstanding job of support Ms. Farmiga in her role. So, all of that sounds pretty good. The problem is that this movie was titled well. Forget Irene getting down to the bone, it takes the audience down to the bone; and, unfortunately, it never brings us back. This film is the emotional equivalent of getting knocked down, kicked in the gut, and left for dead. Personally, I have to admit that I don’t enjoy getting that feeling from a movie. I don’t expect a Disney-esque ending from every movie. I accepted the lack of resolution in the French film Caché just fine for example. But, to be put through the emotional meat grinder, to develop a strong hope for Irene and her recovery, and then to be sort of left to wonder if she will ever make it, that was too much. Of course, it is possible that this was the plan of director and co-writer Debra Granik. Perhaps she intended that we always be left to wonder if Irene would continue to rise a bit and then sink back down to the bone. Unfortunately, I found that dissatisfying. In the end, it left me feeling cheated. The truth is my human nature would only be happy to find out that she broke out, anything less would have left me equally cold, and that might be something that neither Irene nor real drug addicts could offer.
| VHS | DVD | |
| Related DVD | Related DVD | Related DVD |
No comments:
Post a Comment