Answer Addiction

Tag: addiction in movies

  • Lady Gaga Disappoints Fans by Failing to Address Mental Health Triggers in "A Star Is Born"

    Lady Gaga Disappoints Fans by Failing to Address Mental Health Triggers in "A Star Is Born"

    Lady Gaga has worked tirelessly to help people with mental health problems, sharing her own struggles with debilitating depression. So why hasn’t she addressed the very real and dangerous depressive and suicidal triggers in the film?

    Trigger Warning: The following story discusses a completed suicide in a film and links to potentially triggering articles. Proceed with caution. If you feel you are at risk and need help, skip the story and get help now. Options include: Calling the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-TALK (8255), calling 911, and calling a friend or family member to stay with you until emergency medical personnel arrive to help you. 

    (This piece contains spoilers for A Star is Born.)

    Months after its release, the highly-acclaimed A Star is Born is still generating plenty of headline-worthy buzz, most recently with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

    It’s an incredible movie with an equally impressive soundtrack; I had every song memorized long before I seeing the movie. But months after seeing A Star is Born on a rare date-night with my husband, I still feel that Lady Gaga—Mother Monster herself—let the entire mental health community down. And while I agree that the Oscar-buzz is well-deserved, I also wonder at the media’s lack of attention to the film’s numerous potential triggers for alcoholism, addiction, depression, and suicide.

    Lady Gaga has made a name for herself as more than just a performer, using her platform to bring awareness to preventative mental health care. She’s spoken publicly about her personal struggles with her own “debilitating mental health spirals,” amassing a following of “Little Monsters” – fans who see themselves in her message. She and her mother, Cynthia Germonatta, created the Born This Way Foundation for a “kinder and braver world.” Germonatta also notably presented to The United Nations General Assembly in 2018 on behalf of the Born This Way Foundation on the topic of mental health, launching the United for Global Mental Health initiative. According to its Twitter page, the initiative’s vision is “a world where everyone, anywhere, can turn to someone who is able to support their mental health when needed.”

    You could say that I’ve been stanning Lady Gaga since before “stanning” was even a word, so I was well aware of her activism before seeing the movie. I was thrilled going into A Star is Born. But my excitement soon gave way to anxiety and sadness. Certain scenes left me dismayed and shaken, stunned that there weren’t safety protocols put into place to warn the very fans she has worked so hard to fight for and protect.

    Never having seen the original film (and not having done any research on the film before seeing it) I still knew going in that A Star is Born wasn’t going to have a happy ending. One friend had posted on Facebook that she was “gutted” as the credits rolled. But even that did not prepare me for the very real and incredibly dangerous depressive and suicidal triggers contained within the film’s ending, most notably Jack’s suicide (and the very brief glimpse of the belt from which he was hanging swinging through the garage windows). That shot alone, while problematic in terms of the little that could be seen and the dangers of suicidal triggers according to The Association for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), I might have been able to shake off. It wasn’t until the moment after Jack’s brother, Bob, was consoling Ally (played by Gaga) following Jack’s suicide, telling her that it was nobody’s fault but Jack’s, that I cracked. 

    I waited, breathless and crying, for Mother Monster to channel herself through the character she was portraying on the big screen, to speak up. She’d done so repeatedly while Jack was still alive and fighting his addiction, assuring him that alcoholism is a disease and that there was no blame to be placed or taken on.

    All she needed to say was that the addiction won; that Jack’s suicide wasn’t any more his fault than his alcoholism had been. 

    But she didn’t. And it broke me. 

    For a brief moment, I thought that maybe I was the only one. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was just being too sensitive. But it wasn’t just me.

    In researching this piece, I discovered that complaints of “viewer distress” in New Zealand had caused the film to be reclassified with a suicide warning note. But why wasn’t a trigger warning for suicide added to the beginning of the film from the get-go? 

    David Shanks, head of the New Zealand film classification board, was quoted in The Guardian after demanding that the film add a warning to protect vulnerable viewers. “For those who have lost someone close to them, a warning gives them a chance to make an informed choice about watching.” 

    Houston-based licensed therapist Bill Prasad notes that for those who haven’t yet seen A Star is Born, it’s best to skip the film if proper resources are not in place. 

    “Triggers can be tricky and dangerous,” said Prasad, who added that those in the early stages of sobriety may also be adversely affected. 

    The AFSP’s fact sheet on suicide statistics, warning signs, and risk factors includes “Exposure to another person’s suicide, or to graphic or sensationalized accounts of suicide” among the many risk factors for triggering those vulnerable to act. A Star is Born triggered for me my own “debilitating mental health spiral.” I withdrew from my friends, both personal and those in my social media circles. I stopped writing. I stopped sleeping at night and started sleeping too much during the day. And when no one was looking, I kept crying. 

    As a writer whose livelihood depends on my ability to create, I lost months of income. As a survivor of my own suicide attempt with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, I am grateful that I’m not actively suicidal now or when I saw the film. That doesn’t mean, however, that I am not sensitive to associated triggers. Two months later, I’m still trying to find all the pieces and put myself back together. 

    I’m not asking for Hollywood to hold my hand. I know that hard stories need to be told. A Star is Born is a brilliantly acted film and rightfully deserves all the attention it continues to receive. I understand that perhaps it might not have been “realistic” for Ally to snap out of her grief-stricken state and set Jack’s brother right about how dangerous it is to blame the victim, that it’s never okay to even imply that.

    So I waited for Mother Monster herself to set the record straight after the fact. 

    But she didn’t. 

    Lady Gaga didn’t say a word. Not then, and not after, during countless interviews, did she reassure her monsters that depression is an illness beyond the control of the afflicted. Not once did she say that no one should ever blame the suicidal.

    As Prasad reminds us, “If you are struggling after the movie, reach out to someone or get professional help. You don’t have to suffer alone.”

    If you or someone you know may be at risk for suicide, immediately seek help. You are not alone.

    Options include:

    • Calling the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
    • Calling 911
    • Calling a friend or family member to stay with you until emergency medical personnel arrive to help you.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Shia LaBeouf's New Movie Highlights Father's Heroin Addiction Struggle

    Shia LaBeouf's New Movie Highlights Father's Heroin Addiction Struggle

    LaBeouf wrote the screenplay for the semi-autobiographical film while in rehab.

    Shia LaBeouf’s latest film, Honey Boy, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25 to tell the world the story of the actor’s odd and tumultuous childhood that led to his struggle with addiction and mental illness.

    LaBeouf is known for his strange performance art as well as his acting and has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy during his long career.

    The boy who began as the star of the children’s TV show Even Stevens grew into the man who was twice arrested for disorderly conduct and conducted a performance piece in which he sat with a paper bag over his head and cried for six days.

    LaBeouf has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has sought treatment for alcoholism, plus was ordered to attend an anger management program after going on a drunken tirade against the police who were arresting him for his second time.

    Honey Boy is a semi-autobiographical film that shows the verbal and emotional abuse which may have led to the actor’s PTSD. Fittingly, the actor wrote the script while he was in rehab in 2018, according to The Wrap. 

    LaBeouf himself plays James Lort, a clear representation of his real-life father, Jeffrey LaBeouf. James, like Jeffrey, is a Vietnam veteran and convicted sex offender with alcoholism who “pushed his son around while stumbling through a series of poor decisions,” according to film critic Eric Kohn of IndieWire.

    Meanwhile, Lucas Hedges plays a 20-something version of LaBeouf as his life quickly spirals out of control, culminating in a drunken car crash that lands him in jail and then rehab. While in therapy, he flashes back to the representation of LaBeouf’s childhood.

    Financial troubles result in a divorce between the representation of LaBeouf’s parents, ending in LaBeouf (“Otis”) living with his mother in a run-down motel and a world without warmth made worse by his “affection-averse” deadbeat dad.

    LaBeouf himself has opened up about his troubled past and his family’s history of substance abuse before.

    “When you’re 10 years old and watch your father going through heroin withdrawals, you grow up real fast,” he said in an interview with The Orange County Register. “You become the parent in the relationship. But I must give [Jeffrey LaBeouf] credit because he always told me that he didn’t want me to be like him.”

    The film’s director, Alma Har’el, told The Wrap that LaBeouf has “done the bravest thing anyone could do” by depicting his own father and called Honey Boy an “artistic exorcism” for all involved.

    “Obviously we all went through a lot of deep feelings while making the film, but nothing was too much. Everything was accepted. Whenever the demons came, we danced with them.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Julia Roberts Shines In Powerful Addiction Drama "Ben Is Back"

    Julia Roberts Shines In Powerful Addiction Drama "Ben Is Back"

    Ben is Back follows the Burns family over the course of a turbulent 24 hours as Holly tries desperately to save her son, who’s fresh out of rehab, from danger.

    Ben is Back is an acclaimed new film about a mother whose son is struggling with opioid addiction. Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, who play mother and son in the addiction drama are both receiving rave reviews for their performances.

    In Ben is Back, Ben Burns (played by Lucas Hedges) unexpectedly returns to his family’s home on Christmas Eve, a time that can be even more tumultuous for those with addiction. The film follows the family over the course of 24 hours as Roberts tries desperately to save her son from danger, as he’s fresh out of rehab. The film showcases the toll that addiction takes on the loved ones of those dealing with the disease.

    In researching his role, Lucas spent time with Roberts’ family, and as the Oscar-winning actress told The Daily Beast, that quality time together “served us in the dark, cold night of shooting. We had these sunny days to reflect back upon.”

    Ben is Back was written and directed by Peter Hedges, Lucas’ father, who also wrote and directed What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Addiction ran in Peter’s family. His mother battled alcoholism and became sober when Peter was 15.

    Hedges told The Hollywood Reporter he was struggling with writer’s block, but after the death of a friend from an overdose, and the subsequent death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, he became obsessed with the subject of addiction.

    Once the Ben is Back screenplay was finished, Disney quickly snapped it up, and producer Nina Jacobson said it was “the fastest journey I’ve ever taken from script to screen.”

    As Lucas explains, “I think the movie is a reflection of my dad’s passion for triumph in family. He’s always had an intense gift in being able to see the innocence and beauty in people who struggle with addiction, because that’s very close to his own story with his family and how he relates to his mother who struggle with it.”

    Lucas also feels that Ben is Back has great potential to help other families who are suffering from addiction to heal as well. “I felt like this movie was an opportunity for us as a family to confront something that’s hereditary and that maybe it would be easier going forward for what maybe my kids will have to deal with.”

    “This is a lot of families,” Roberts says. “It’s such a huge issue. I just don’t know that there could be anyone who could sit in a room and say is there anywhere here who could say alcohol abuse, drug abuse, addiction has not touched your life in some way.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • The Character Without a Credit: Addiction in "Beautiful Boy"

    The Character Without a Credit: Addiction in "Beautiful Boy"

    David is desperate to fix Nic. He researches addiction and interviews doctors. He even takes crystal meth to try to better understand.

    Told largely from the perspective of David Sheff (Steve Carell), the father of 18-year-old Nic (Timothée Chalamet), who struggles with crystal meth addiction, Beautiful Boy is an agonizing film adaptation of memoirs written by the father-son duo: Beautiful Boy (2008) by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines (2009) by Nic Sheff. The crucial challenge for director Felix Van Groeningen is to distinguish his film from others in the addiction archives, capturing an elusive disease with uniqueness and poignancy without teetering into the realm of cliché. Groeningen does this by focusing on character relationships, not falling prey to plot prescriptiveness.

    New York Times film critic A.O. Scott writes that as “much as [Beautiful Boy] may want to illuminate the realities of addiction, it mystifies David and Nic’s experiences, leaving too many questions — how and what as well as why — swirling in the air.” Scott misses the point: the “how and what as well as why” is addiction. Films that do pretend to unlock answers to addiction often fall victim to over-sentimentality.

    For the sake of transparency, I bring a bias here: I’m in recovery. Addiction is “cunning, baffling, and powerful,” as the rooms of recovery reiterate. One of the most powerful scenes in the film comes after Nic relapses, and David and Karen (Nic’s step-mom, played by Maura Tierney) come to see him in rehab. Nic begins to cry because he doesn’t have any answers to how he’s ended up there again. Nic, like myself and virtually every addict I’ve ever met, feels better when he’s high: “I felt better than I ever had, so…I just kept on doing it.” And then it takes more drugs and booze to feel better until they simply don’t work anymore. It’s an unsatisfying answer, to say the least, and it’s one of the primary reasons why addiction is so hard for families to grapple with.

    The most engrossing addiction films—think Basketball Diaries or Requiem for a Dream or Trainspotting—depict the darkest moments of drug addiction. Groeningen doesn’t shy away from portraying the depths of Nic’s addiction, but shock value isn’t the primary method to propel the narrative either; the film isn’t about drugs, after all, it’s about the people who fall victim to them. The climax of the film is distressing, to say the least (spoiler alert)— Nic overdoses in a public bathroom—but the film never exploits drug usage as a default mechanism to drive the plot forward. The truth is that the swirling in the air of “how and what as well as why” is exactly what addiction does. This isn’t a copout; this is the truth.

    David is desperate to fix Nic. He researches addiction and interviews doctors. He even takes crystal meth to try to better understand. He is a writer, after all. But this is a subject he will never quite understand and the film, ultimately, is about his journey to accept that there is nothing he can do to save Nic.

    While sitting in the theater, I couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of what active addiction did to my own friends and family, especially my parents—the thoughts that still haunt my father when the phone rings late at night or I’m not on time for a family gathering. What does it do to a father or a mother or a sister or a brother for their son or sibling to disappear for days at a time? This is the essence of Beautiful Boy. And it’s painful.

    The film is authentic because the emotional turmoil—the desperation—from Carell is genuine. It’s easy for a director to inject an addiction narrative with recovery jargon and AA meetings. But that is recovery, not addiction.

    As Anna Iovine writes for Vice: “Beautiful Boy doesn’t hide the ugliest parts of addiction…But all I could think of while watching Beautiful Boy is all the pain that I wasn’t seeing, and how we willfully turn away from the plight of addicts without privilege and resources…Watch it to remind yourself that there are millions of stories like Nic’s, but they won’t have the opportunity to be made into books or films.” While walking out of the theater with one of my oldest friends, I considered where I would be if it wasn’t for family, blood or otherwise. Getting sober, with love and support, is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Without that love and support, I wouldn’t be here, writing this. And so it’s important, to me at least, to consider what can be done for those who want help, but have no idea how to get it, or no ability to get it. I can understand, as well as anyone, the offscreen pain that Iovine writes about. That’s a character in Beautiful Boy that doesn’t have a byline.

    Official Trailer:

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • 2018 Reel Recovery Film Festival Returns to New York

    2018 Reel Recovery Film Festival Returns to New York

    The fest is the brainchild of Leonard Buschel, founder of Writers in Treatment (WIT), a nonprofit organization that helps alcoholic and addicted writers get clean.

    Calling all cinephiles! The REEL Recovery Film Festival (RRFF), which is celebrating its 10th year, is back for its 6th Annual New York City Edition. The festival kicks off its public program at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, with a screening of the Eric Clapton documentary, Life in 12 Bars. Click here for a free ticket to the documentary (or any movie at the festival), courtesy of Clapton’s treatment center, Crossroads Centre Antigua. The CEO of Crossroads, Nicos Peraticos, will be in attendance to give a short talk and introduce the film.

    For the full Nov. 2–8 schedule, visit the RRFF website. Note: All tickets are General Admission so, word to the wise: arrive early in order to nab yourself a seat.

    Every year since RRFF sprouted up in New York, I’ve attended this awesome week-long festival and had a blast meeting sober people. The fest is the brainchild of Leonard Buschel, founder of Writers in Treatment (WIT), a nonprofit organization that helps alcoholic and addicted writers get clean. WIT also publishes the Addiction Recovery Bulletin newsletter, and created the annual Experience Strength and Hope Awards. This year’s big award winner was Jane Velez-Mitchell for her New York Times best-selling memoir, iWANT: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life.

    Buschel spoke to The Fix about how he got here and what makes this year’s RRFF so special.

    “After 26 years of abusing everything from Valium to vodka and cocaine to codeine, I crashed and burned. I smoked breakfast, drank lunch and snorted dinner.”

    Finally, beaten to his bottom, the depressed and close-to-hopeless Buschel schlepped himself into 12-step recovery at the Betty Ford Center.

    “I’d prayed at the Western Wall,” he said. “I’d sat in temples of Kyoto, cried my eyes out at the Anne Frank House, but it wasn’t until I went to Betty Ford that I decided to get clean. I was horrified at the time, thinking it was some Christian enclave. Thankfully, I learned that wasn’t the case.”

    “This year’s RRFF received generous support from the Addiction Policy Forum,” Buschel said. “So thanks to them we have some really special events that didn’t happen at the Los Angeles RRFF week in October that just ended. So, one movie that’s just for our New York crowd is the first theatrical screening of the Eric Clapton documentary, Life in 12 Bars.”

    Such a perfect title since Clapton loves the blues.

    Buschel continued: “We had to find a bigger venue this year because our audience has grown so much since we started. Judging by last year’s enthusiastic turnout, we are expecting an audience of around 2,000. So, this year, it will be at the 100-year-old Village East Cinema, which is a New York City landmark. Another special treat is on Monday afternoon at 3 o’clock when we’ll have another complimentary screening, the Bill W. documentary.”

    The documentary’s director, Kevin Hanlon, will be at the theater and will give a talk. The film, which was created using old archives, is a moving documentary about AA founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Seeing those two on the big screen when it first came out gave me such a thrill. In my humble opinion, it is definitely worth watching the movie a second, or third, or fourth time.

    Addiction specialist and psychodrama expert, Tian Dayton, PhD, who is the author of 15 books including Emotional Sobriety, will be presenting a 6 p.m. panel on the last night, Thurs., Nov. 8, which will include a few videos, followed by a conversation with the audience. Directly after that is Buschel’s talk at 7 p.m.

    “My panel, Recovery Is a Verb, will be a conversation about the state of addiction in America,” Buschel said. “Then we will close with a 21st anniversary screening called Gridlock’d. It’s a great film starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth and Thandie Newton, with Elizabeth Peña, Lucy Liu and John Sayles. It’s about two guys trying to get into a government detox program. Tupac plays Spoon and Tim Roth is Stretch. It was written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall.”

    “We get 150 submissions from filmmakers around the world,” said Bushel. “We watch every one of them. Our panel votes on which are the very best and it is never easy to narrow it down. [There are] so many great submissions.”

    Click here for your free ticket!

    More Festival Highlights

    Coach Jake (2017): At 70 years old, Martin “Coach Jake” Jacobson is the winningest high school coach in NYC history. But this year, both on and off the field, may be the most challenging yet. Directed by Ian Phillips. Special Appearance by Coach Jake and director Ian Phillips. 82 min.

    Peace, Love and Zoo (2018) This film explores the colorful world of artist and recovery guru, Zoo Cain, as he uses art to ease his journey into darkness through cancer and a difficult relationship. Directed by Reginald Groff. Special Appearance by Director Reginald Groff and star Zoo Cain. 68 min.

    When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (2010) Based on the true story of the enduring love story between Lois Wilson and Bill W. and the transformational social movements they founded. Directed by John Kent Harrison. Starring Winona Ryder. 92 min.

    That Way Madness Lies (2018) Filmmaker Sandra Luckow’s scary account of her brother’s dangerous and ever-escalating cycle of arrests, incarcerations and commitment to mental institutions, one of which included a stay in Oregon State Hospital (the setting of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). Directed by Sandra Luckow. NY Premiere. Personal Appearance by director Sandra Luckow. 101 min.

    WONDER WOMEN WEDNESDAY
    Films made by women, starring women, about women.

    These films are not just for women. Everyone is encouraged to come and to join in the discussion after each film.

    Recovering (2017) In this hour-long pilot, Cally Claremont, the adult child of an alcoholic (and so naturally, a recovering perfectionist), must seek help from her estranged sister and a famously sober rock star in order to save her unique treatment center from closing its doors. Directed by Carly Keyes. 46 min.

    Cleaner Daze (2018) is a dark comedy series about addiction, written by a recovering drug addict. The story follows a newbie drug counselor while she struggles with a crew of misfit teenage drug addicts and her own secret addiction. Starring Abigail Reno. Directed by Tess Sweet. 55 min.

    Ciao Manhattan (1972) Essential viewing for anyone intrigued by 60’s pop culture, the New York art scene and the Summer of Love. Ciao is a thinly disguised biopic of the last days of “tragic muse” and Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick, who died two weeks after the film was released. Directed by David Weisman and John Palmer. 84 min.

    Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic (2018) Today’s opioid epidemic is the worst man-made public health epidemic in American history. Every year we lose more people to opioid deaths than were killed in the entire Vietnam War. Narrated by Golden Globe winning actor Ed Harris. Directed by Harry Wiland. 90 min.

    I’m looking forward to RRFF and seeing Buschel again. This tireless innovator is now 24 years clean and sober. Man, I wish I had his energy.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Beautiful Boy’s Timothée Chalamet & Nic Sheff Talk Addiction

    Beautiful Boy’s Timothée Chalamet & Nic Sheff Talk Addiction

    The duo went on a multi-city tour where they discussed addiction, recovery and their critically-acclaimed film.

    Actor Timothée Chalamet and author Nic Sheff went on a multi-city tour last weekend to talk about their new film Beautiful Boy.

    The film is based on the memoir Beautiful Boy by New York Times best-selling author David Sheff, and Tweak by his son Nic Sheff—about a family grappling with a young man’s battle with substance use disorder.

    Over the weekend, Academy Award-nominated actor, 22-year-old Chalamet, and Nic Sheff sat down for Q&A sessions at screenings of the film in Austin, Dallas, St. Louis and Minneapolis.

    The film has so far garnered positive reviews for its honest portrayal of addiction. “I think there’s never been a portrayal of addiction as real-feeling as what [Chalamet] did in this movie,” said Nic at a Q&A in Minneapolis.

    Chalamet said he tried “a little of everything” in preparing for his role as young Nic.

    “Nic and David’s book helped a lot. Spending time in out-patient and in-patient programs. The key is not to play a drug addict, but to play a human being addicted to drugs,” the actor said at a Q&A in St. Louis.

    Spending a lot of time with Nic helped as well, he said. The difference between any other disease and substance use disorder is how life can change in recovery.

    “With addiction, when you get sober, it’s not like your life just goes back to the way that it was before. Your life gets so much better than it ever had been,” said Nic.

    “It’s a really amazing life that’s possible sober. The fact that addiction is not a death sentence, and that the love that a family has is always there even after everything that we all went through, to have that love in the end is beautiful.”

    When asked if he had any advice for parents, and if drug use prevention is really possible, Nic answered that while there’s no definitive answer, what may help is to teach young people to manage stress and educate them on the effects of drug use.

    The film also strikes a chord with families across the country who are going through their own—a loved one’s—battles with addiction.

    “Addiction knows no class, knows no race, knows no boundaries, and it’s a modern day crisis,” said Chalamet.

    “The good news is that there really is a lot of hope. Recovery is possible—not only to recover from this thing, but to actually thrive after addiction,” said Nic.

    Read articles by Nic Sheff here.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Best Indie Films of 2018: The Fix Picks

    Best Indie Films of 2018: The Fix Picks

    In early recovery I had moments where I was sure I could not stay sober for one more minute. That’s when my friends offered sound advice: Don’t think, and go to movies.

    In early recovery I found myself inundated with obsessive worries scurrying around in my head. It was repetitive dark noise that I ached to shush with alcohol. At times I was sure that I could not stay sober for one more minute. That’s when my friends offered sound advice: “Don’t think, and go to movies.”

    So, as we head into fall with the looming Nov. 6 midterms, a real-life nail biter, let’s talk about the great escape—indies!

    This first film is an uplifting true story about an exceptional human being. He is a creative philanthropist with an unexpected approach to helping people with addiction and ex-cons who are way down on their luck.

    Skid Row Marathon is about a superior court judge in Los Angeles. Craig Mitchell is a one-man crusade helping addicts and ex-cons who live in tents and cardboard boxes on LA’s Skid Row. The worst part of his day job is sending criminals to prison. The compassionate judge came up with a way to have a positive impact. He gets the homeless back on their feet with a running club.

    Wife-and-husband team, Gabi and Mark Hayes, heard about the judge who trains the homeless to run marathons.

    Mark told The Fix. “Many of the homeless are on drugs—crack, heroin, crystal meth, alcohol, you name it. Gabi and I wanted to do something [to help]. My wife is the real runner. Me? I go kicking and screaming.”

    When the couple first approached Judge Mitchell about doing a documentary, Mark said Mitchell’s response was, “’You can’t just show up with a camera and start filming people at the lowest point of their lives.’”

    “The judge was right,” said Mark. “At first, some threw bottles at us. But we hung in there and put in the time to get to know them until they felt safe enough to speak to us. We were there to help, not exploit them.”

    The response to their film has been high praise and enthusiastic reviews.

    “I think [the film] resonates with so many audiences because people know everybody deserves a second chance,” said Gabi. “The homeless situation is heartbreaking and it keeps getting worse. More and more tents keep popping up and there are people lying in the streets. They just took a wrong turn in life.”

    Runners find purpose when they show up to run with the judge and are treated with respect. Their self-image improves which helps them to get off and stay off the drugs. Skid Row Marathon has raked in 21 awards at film festivals across America—including Best Director, Best Editing, and multiple audience awards. To find out how to see it, visit the website.

    For this next winner, it doesn’t matter if you weren’t born yet or if you can’t remember a thing about the 60s and 70s because you were too damn high. Any age is the right audience for this one.

    Nico, 1988 is about the last year in the life of German model-singer-actress Nico (neé Christa Päffgen). Her glory had faded long ago, as did her exquisite beauty. She looked ravaged beyond her years due to her 15-year heroin addiction. In one scene, Nico (Trine Dyrholm) is sharing a cigarette with a friend.

    “Am I ugly?” She asks. He jokingly replies: “Yeah. Really.”

    “Good,” she says. “I wasn’t happy when I was beautiful.”

    In her teens she was a model for Vogue and Elle which led to acting in a number of films. But Nico is best known as Andy Warhol’s muse and as a singer for the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed wrote the band’s revolutionary lyrics about heroin, prostitution, and sadism.

    In 2003, that first album ranked number 13 in Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” If Nico had been alive to see that, she would not have been impressed.

    “I don’t need everybody to like me,” she says in the film. “I don’t care.”

    She says in the movie that Jim Morrison suggested that she form her own band. When asked if she’s disappointed that her band never had commercial success, she rasps “I hate the word commercial.”

    Smartly directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Nico, 1988 is a fiery and fascinating study of another rock and roll tragedy. Though there’s nothing glamorous about watching someone eaten away by drugs, it was a great reminder to stay sober. Don’t miss the explosive tour de force by Dryholm. It brings chills.

    After I gave up substances, I became aware of—and had to let go of—magical thinking. Ironically, my next pick is about two dreamers who built a fantastical world that sparkled like a disco ball:

    Studio 54

    In Manhattan, 254 West 54th Street was the place to be. Studio 54 opened in 1977 and it was a smash hit—a nightly revelry of drinking, drugging and disco dancing. We’re talking gobs of cocaine, mountains of Quaaludes, and A-listers. Everyone else had to wait outside hoping they would be allowed in.

    Owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, two Jewish guys from Brooklyn, became great friends at Syracuse University. Rubell’s charisma was always on but Schrager avoided attention—until now. The 71-year-old finally told details from 40 years ago that nobody has ever heard. Director Matt Tyrnauer got his hands on loads of never-before-seen footage.

    The owners were not prepared for the club’s instant success. It became a haven for celebrating sex and drugs. You’ll see Rubell zipping around, spoiling his guests, flashing open a long coat to reveal a drugstore in pockets—a smorgasbord of chemical delights.

    Rubell paid steeply for his 24/7 bacchanal. So, although the flick triggered my euphoric recall—wild nights hoovering cocaine, glugging Bacardi and dancing all night—I also remember what it cost me. I’m lucky—I did survive, hey, hey.

    The following film is about an unusual triangle between a girl and a “good” mother (the only mom she’d known) and an alcoholic stranger that kicks off a psychodrama.

    Daughter of Mine (Figlia mia) is a fictional story set on the coast of Sardinia, Italy. Two women, adoptive-mom Tina (Valeria Golino) and alcoholic biological-mom Angelica (Alba Rohrwacher), compete for the love and attention of 10-year-old Vittoria (Sara Casu).

    The shy, fair-skinned, redheaded girl had no idea that she was adopted. Heavy drinker Angelica has a life that is totally unmanageable. She’s being kicked off a farm for not paying her bills, but before slinking out of town, this “bad” mom begs adoptive mom Tina to let her spend time with Vittoria. Tina, who is compassionate but wary, finally agrees. She thinks What’s the harm? Angelica will be gone soon.

    Vittoria, however, is enchanted by her wild birth mother that looks so much like her. As they bond, Tina’s anxiety skyrockets. The story is at times predictable but that doesn’t take away from its emotionality or the power of the acting.

    Italian director Laura Bispuri described it as “three characters who are all placed in a conflict that…breaks their heart.”

    The thoughtful, slower pace of a European indie is refreshing. The backdrop of rural Sardinia, with its cliffs, expansive sky and turquoise water, adds to the film’s richness. After the U.S. debut at Tribeca, Strand Releasing purchased this touching award-winner, which is now available on Netflix and DVD.

    This next indie won the top award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival for Best Narrative Feature. It also won Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. All prizes are well-deserved.

    Diane stars Mary Kay Place as a sad, retired widow (badly in need of Al-Anon, if you ask me) who exhausts herself by putting the needs of others first. Her mess-of-a-son Brian (Jake Lacy) is a man-child who’s in and out of rehabs and opiate stupors. It’s maddening to see what she puts up with. Both actors give industrial-super-strength performances, as does the rest of the cast which includes Estelle Parsons and Glynnis O’Connor. Diane is the first narrative feature for documentarian Kent Jones (Hitchcock/Truffaut) who wrote and directed. Jones is also Director of the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Martin Scorsese is executive producer.

    Diane spends her days schlepping long distances, performing good deeds. She feeds the homeless at soup kitchens, visits sick friends, and tends to her dying cousin and the rest of the extended family. She meets her klatch of old friends for lunch, where she has angry outbursts (Oh, Diane! Get thee to Al-Anon). The actress is a master at comedic nuances. Her self-blame is a mystery until the satisfying reveal and her character’s profound spiritual arc. IFC bought the film. Theater release date to be announced.

     

    Mary Kay Place in Diane

    Next is an award-winning narrative feature from the UK. It’s got the right ingredients: excellent writing, directing, acting, and cinematography—all in the first sequence. Clever, subtle hints show the audience what they need to know about the year (2011), the place (London), and the protagonist.

    Obey is explosive. Nineteen-year-old Leon (Marcus Rutherford) has been gone for four years. He came home to care for his alcoholic mother (T’Nia Miller). But there is one condition: she has to stop drinking. The good news is that his father is gone. Bad news? His mother replaced Leon’s abusive dad with a creepy, scary boyfriend who enables her addiction.

    Leon likes to hang out with his friends, box at the gym, and inhale nitrous oxide from balloons. Things intensify when he meets the movie’s female lead, Twiggy (Sophie Kennedy Clark). She’s a blonde with big blue eyes and luscious full lips. Leon is transfixed but femme fatale Twiggy has a boyfriend. Leon’s tension builds. It’s all too much and he is going to blow. Leon hates his mother’s boyfriend and her alcoholism, and outside is the chaos of the 2011 London Riots. Director James Jones uses actual news footage seamlessly. To find out how to see it, visit the website.

    Blowin’ Up is a documentary about sex workers who are caught in the legal system. Many who end up in “the life” have substance use disorders. Director Stephanie Wang-Breal presents their gripping stories without judgment as the film zeroes in on an experimental program in a Queens court. The compassion in the film is its biggest strength. The heroes are an empathic team of women, including a judge and DA, who work diligently to help the workers find a new start. Counseling is used to help them fight their way off of drugs and out of the life-sucking cycle of turning tricks, getting arrested and seeing their lives circle the drain. This solution-oriented program offers a chance at redemption. The new approach toward an age-old problem appears to be working. It is inspiring and brings hope for America’s failing justice system where recidivism is commonplace.

    [Allison: What do you think of these 2 quick mentions as blurbs with internal links as a Sidebar?]

    Pssst. Don’t miss these options:

    Roll Red Roll is a documentary directed by Nancy Schwartzman. It tells the horrifying story of a sexual assault case that took place in Steubenville, Ohio. Male high-schoolers, clearly intoxicated, were caught on cell phone videos, laughing about raping a teenage girl while she was in and out of consciousness. Much of the town mocked her on social media and sided with the local boys. She was ridiculed for being drunk. It’s a powerful film that shines the light on how vulnerable one is when intoxicated. Crime blogger Alexandria Goddard broke the case. The hacking group Anonymous became involved in order to fight for justice. If you ask me, not enough justice was served.

    Read more: Roll Red Roll

    Jellyfish is a fictional story about Sarah Taylor (Liv Hill), an overburdened teenage girl living in Margate, a dreary seaside town in England. Her mother, Karen (Sinéad Matthews), stays in bed all day while Sarah rushes her younger siblings, boy and girl twins (Henry Lile and Jemima Newman) to school. Sarah pedals madly on a bicycle with the youngsters seated in a makeshift wooden trailer that’s hooked to the back. It’s a sad rickety setup that instantly conveys how poverty stricken they are.

    Read more: Jellyfish Captures the Reality of Growing Up with a Mentally Ill Parent

    View the original article at thefix.com