I heard about this film recently when the maker appeared on Real Time on HBO. He came across as a fun but proactive guy and it made me want to watch this film. The documentary is just as I imagined it would be based on who he was and in some ways this is a strength but in other ways it is a strength that isn't totally built on.
The film takes a rather light hearted look at the drug game – showing each level like it was a stage in a video game and having people who have been there talk about just how easy it is to do and how the financial appeal is just so much more than the risk in some cases or how, in other cases, the option is just so much better than the total lack of other options. In doing this it builds the case for how stupid the war on drugs is, how devastating the mandatory minimum sentencing is and how pointless death and pain there is behind all of this. This is a case that is easily made and for the most part I can see how the film was approaching it because it is very easy to watch and very accessible regardless of your views. The light-hearted tone, the video-game motif, the very (very) fast pace, all of it is aimed at a younger audience and the film deserves credit for that because this is a film with a clear message that will not be switched off by the audience because it is preachy or dry.
Problem is that for the most part it doesn't have this message, instead it has a lot of style. The use of celebrities and larger-than-life former criminals doesn't help because generally the tone is upbeat and while the message is reasonably clear, most of the contributors do their sections in a "yeah it was wrong but it was frigging awesome being wrong" style. Only at the very end of the film do we get a sense of the real damage from the contributors, the real loss and pain they all suffered but it is a sudden gear change for the film to get there and it does crunch. This isn't to say that it is a bad film, because it isn't, but the thing it does really well is directly connected to what it does less well. The accessibility of it and the way it will hit the target audience also lessens the factual message and the ability to get to the real heart of the problem and the people.
It is worth a look because it is a valuable message in an accessible and fun form, but the use of clips of The Wire will only serve to remind that the same points have been made elsewhere in a much more impacting and strong fashion.
The film takes a rather light hearted look at the drug game – showing each level like it was a stage in a video game and having people who have been there talk about just how easy it is to do and how the financial appeal is just so much more than the risk in some cases or how, in other cases, the option is just so much better than the total lack of other options. In doing this it builds the case for how stupid the war on drugs is, how devastating the mandatory minimum sentencing is and how pointless death and pain there is behind all of this. This is a case that is easily made and for the most part I can see how the film was approaching it because it is very easy to watch and very accessible regardless of your views. The light-hearted tone, the video-game motif, the very (very) fast pace, all of it is aimed at a younger audience and the film deserves credit for that because this is a film with a clear message that will not be switched off by the audience because it is preachy or dry.
Problem is that for the most part it doesn't have this message, instead it has a lot of style. The use of celebrities and larger-than-life former criminals doesn't help because generally the tone is upbeat and while the message is reasonably clear, most of the contributors do their sections in a "yeah it was wrong but it was frigging awesome being wrong" style. Only at the very end of the film do we get a sense of the real damage from the contributors, the real loss and pain they all suffered but it is a sudden gear change for the film to get there and it does crunch. This isn't to say that it is a bad film, because it isn't, but the thing it does really well is directly connected to what it does less well. The accessibility of it and the way it will hit the target audience also lessens the factual message and the ability to get to the real heart of the problem and the people.
It is worth a look because it is a valuable message in an accessible and fun form, but the use of clips of The Wire will only serve to remind that the same points have been made elsewhere in a much more impacting and strong fashion.