The unorthodox film directed by Tommy Swerdlow revolving around three heroin addicts in search of a fix is not surprising. The director and co-writer of this profound piece used to be an addict for nearly twenty years during which time he had an open heart surgery and a bleeding ulcer. When he wasn’t doing drugs, he was writing family friendly comedies such as Snow Dogs and Cool Runnings but now Swerdlow is making films such as A Thousand Junkies which have a broader target audience. This film recently premiered at the tribeca film festival.
He has also taken the role of Tommy for the film. During the first scene he is in the car with fellow users Blake Heron and TJ Bowen waiting on their drug dealer along with friends. The three of them start talking about the best locations to get high in Los Angeles. However, soon, the discussions stop as they start getting anxious about their dealer not showing up.
Before long, they start driving across the city in search for their fix. Their search does not require any guesswork and leads to comical and sometimes horrendous encounters with certain bits of scum, their family members, and even actor Bill Pullman, who makes a nonchalant cameo as himself. When Tommy asks him for money, Pullman declines and just to make sure the point comes across, steadfastly states, “It’s the hard no.”
By the time Tommy attempts to convince his young daughter into stealing from his spouse, it’s quite clear that he and the rest of the addicts are decreasing in tone from comical to jarring. And, when Blake first proposes that they just rob a Russian dealer at gunpoint, it does get somewhat thrilling.
The concerning detail here is that they are not exactly thrilling individuals, as anyone who knows junkies will tell you. To give the film credit, it attempts to portray its characters in a manner that is always more or less accurate. But whether they are desperately searching through a pile of Cds they wish to sell, or wildly ripping apart a car to find missing drugs, their no-no better situations lack the value to keep the viewers engaged. A Thousand Junkies- as the title suggests, is named after one of the characters who claimed that he had seen that many people try to quit for their addiction and fail. It has the run time of a mere 75 minutes, however, like many drugs, it feels as if it distorts time and feels much longer.
All things considered, the film does contain some delightfully smelly scenes, and the score mixed with vintage pieces such as ‘Misty Blue’ does serve as humorous contrast. Similarly, depending on perspective, the film has a perfect ending which could be interpreted as either optimistic or pessimistic.
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