As it is with most movies about opiate addiction, this one has a very unrealistic overview of what the detox process actually looks like. They make it look like a cakewalk with her in a dentist chair and jumping around with her kids 5 days into recovery. Very unlikely. I am a recovering addict of 8 years and that hardly measures up to my narrative! She claimed to be using heroin and methadone, let me just tell you when I detoxed off of methadone, I literally laid on my couch for 2 solid weeks unable to sleep, eat, move, even watch tv. I laid in a ball and wept. You dont even BEGIN to feel better until after AT LEAST 2 weeks. Heroin is a very similar detox, just slightly shorter. From either one it takes several months to start feeling somewhat normal and several years to feel completely normal, if ever. I dont think any film could ever fully convey the actuality of what it's like, but many have done it much better (The Basketball Diaries comes to mind). Anyone saying the detox was spot on was probably only using synthetic opiates such as oxycodone. BIG difference! Oh and to the reviewer who gave this 1 star, noting that this film is filled with harmful misinformation about 'forcing the patient to go through an unnecessarily painful withdrawal', suggesting the doctor should have offered her methadone, and that her makeup was way off, your review is filled with harmful misinformation. Methadone is the WORST thing to do for addiction. It is just swapping one drug for an even worse drug. One that, might I add, costs more than most people's car payment and isnt covered by even the best insurance. And if you ever decide to ACTUALLY get clean somewhere down the road, it's a far more painful detox than heroin, as it takes twice as long. Getting clean IS PAINFUL! And her makeup was actually pretty spot on for someone on heroin and living on the streets for 10 years. Addiction is UGLY!
I found the premise of the film, revolving around 'the shot', somewhat aggravating. It sends a bad message IMO. Giving outsiders some inclination that it is some miracle that keeps people sober. That it completely takes away the cravings. As long as she can get through these 4 'good' days (still confused about the title, as nothing is good about early recovery) shes made it and will never be tempted to use again and live happily ever after. I swear half the dialogue in this film is her or her mom saying "just ... more days" . Well, it doesnt work like that. If it did, drug addiction would go down, not grow at an exponential rate as it is. Because every addict would do anything for a miracle. Unfortunately, nothing gets rid of cravings except time. And a whole lot of it. Believing in this bs 'antidote' is a surefire way of relapsing. Only willpower and a strong support system keeps you sober. Another thing I found to be off was her naivety about addiction, the shot, her options for getting and staying sober, such as going into an inpatient treatment or at least outpatient. For someone who's been to detox 14 times she should have been much more aware of such things. It seemed like her actual recovery played a very small role for a film revolved around recovery. There was way too much narrative around the shot.
In other aspects of the movie, apart from the story itself, the acting was quite good. Mom was a little over-the-top at times. But I suppose some people might act like that. Hard to believe in Mila Kunis in a role like this but she did it well. It took me 20 minutes to even realize it was her. As stated earlier I think her makeup did the role justice. I have seen plenty of opiate addicts have 'meth' teeth (hell I've seen weed addicts with rotted teeth), as it's not the meth that rots your teeth it's the malnutrition, dry mouth, and lack of oral care. Which go hand in hand with every drug. It's just most notable with meth because you tend to not eat or sleep, so the malnutrition and dry mouth are more prevalant than with other drugs. 5 out 10 for the acting. The story was too rushed and sent a disillusioned message.
I found the premise of the film, revolving around 'the shot', somewhat aggravating. It sends a bad message IMO. Giving outsiders some inclination that it is some miracle that keeps people sober. That it completely takes away the cravings. As long as she can get through these 4 'good' days (still confused about the title, as nothing is good about early recovery) shes made it and will never be tempted to use again and live happily ever after. I swear half the dialogue in this film is her or her mom saying "just ... more days" . Well, it doesnt work like that. If it did, drug addiction would go down, not grow at an exponential rate as it is. Because every addict would do anything for a miracle. Unfortunately, nothing gets rid of cravings except time. And a whole lot of it. Believing in this bs 'antidote' is a surefire way of relapsing. Only willpower and a strong support system keeps you sober. Another thing I found to be off was her naivety about addiction, the shot, her options for getting and staying sober, such as going into an inpatient treatment or at least outpatient. For someone who's been to detox 14 times she should have been much more aware of such things. It seemed like her actual recovery played a very small role for a film revolved around recovery. There was way too much narrative around the shot.
In other aspects of the movie, apart from the story itself, the acting was quite good. Mom was a little over-the-top at times. But I suppose some people might act like that. Hard to believe in Mila Kunis in a role like this but she did it well. It took me 20 minutes to even realize it was her. As stated earlier I think her makeup did the role justice. I have seen plenty of opiate addicts have 'meth' teeth (hell I've seen weed addicts with rotted teeth), as it's not the meth that rots your teeth it's the malnutrition, dry mouth, and lack of oral care. Which go hand in hand with every drug. It's just most notable with meth because you tend to not eat or sleep, so the malnutrition and dry mouth are more prevalant than with other drugs. 5 out 10 for the acting. The story was too rushed and sent a disillusioned message.