I identified with the film when I first saw it because I was in my first year of college and I hung around with a pack of druggies. Not as intense as that crew, people were just starting to discover heroin and shooting up was a bit taboo at first, but overall I recognized a lot of the same vibes and attitudes. I think it's a really honest portrayal of drugs and is perhaps the finest "drug" movie out there.
I think there's a lot of comedy and laughter in that movie, something missing from Requiem for a Dream which is a deep pit of despair that never really lets you go. There's a joyous feeling coupled with despair that really pervades that film and I think it does the subject justice. Because honestly, that's what it's like a lot of the time. It's funny, you're laughing, you're talking about lofty subjects in a very fumbling, cursory sort of way, and expressing your discontent with everything. So the way the good times were juxtaposed with the bad times is authentic, and reminds me of truly great films such as Boogie Nights (only very tangientially though). The circle you do drugs with tends to go deeper than just normal friendship for some reason.
I thought the ensemble cast was good and the style all produced a really cohesive whole that felt very authentic to me in a way that Requiem sometimes didn't... plus, it has a lot of laughs.
I think there's a lot of comedy and laughter in that movie, something missing from Requiem for a Dream which is a deep pit of despair that never really lets you go. There's a joyous feeling coupled with despair that really pervades that film and I think it does the subject justice. Because honestly, that's what it's like a lot of the time. It's funny, you're laughing, you're talking about lofty subjects in a very fumbling, cursory sort of way, and expressing your discontent with everything. So the way the good times were juxtaposed with the bad times is authentic, and reminds me of truly great films such as Boogie Nights (only very tangientially though). The circle you do drugs with tends to go deeper than just normal friendship for some reason.
I thought the ensemble cast was good and the style all produced a really cohesive whole that felt very authentic to me in a way that Requiem sometimes didn't... plus, it has a lot of laughs.