This bullish documentary starts with a swagger but ends as a sobering and compelling trip
Matthew Cooke's busy, bullish documentary sets itself up as a crash-course guide for wannabe drug barons. It shows how a small-time dealer can earn $50k in a day, like teenaged Bobby Carlton, or give customs the slip, like loquacious Brian O'Dea, or be celebrated as a friendly neighbourhood Robin Hood – like Freeway Rick, who moseys through town distributing cash to the needy.
But wait, there's a downside. The drug war is a con; the justice system's a joke. You might wind up dead or simply rotting in jail. Midway through, Cooke's film sobers up. It drops the swaggering bluster and starts reading the small print. It becomes a compelling, clear-sighted trip through the jungle; a documentary that rushes us in and then proceeds to point the way out.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryDrugs tradeXan Brooks
theguardian.com...
Matthew Cooke's busy, bullish documentary sets itself up as a crash-course guide for wannabe drug barons. It shows how a small-time dealer can earn $50k in a day, like teenaged Bobby Carlton, or give customs the slip, like loquacious Brian O'Dea, or be celebrated as a friendly neighbourhood Robin Hood – like Freeway Rick, who moseys through town distributing cash to the needy.
But wait, there's a downside. The drug war is a con; the justice system's a joke. You might wind up dead or simply rotting in jail. Midway through, Cooke's film sobers up. It drops the swaggering bluster and starts reading the small print. It becomes a compelling, clear-sighted trip through the jungle; a documentary that rushes us in and then proceeds to point the way out.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryDrugs tradeXan Brooks
theguardian.com...
- 12/29/2013
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
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