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What's the most accurate depiction of heroin in a movie?

Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky

Frumious Bandersnatch
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Nov 3, 1999
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What movie do you think most accurately depicts heroin addiction?

I think it's A Thousand Junkies. It's about 3 dudes who are just trying to score the whole movie. Starts in the morning at 7 AM, they wake up, immediately hustle to get the money, but their regular dope dealer is at the hospital because his wife is in labor, so they are SOL almost the whole movie.

It's just a really great example of those times when you HAVE the money, the car, the time, and it's just not working out for you.

And it's cool that it's just 3 dudes progressively getting sicker, more desperate, more creative, ripping the car up for a piece that they think they dropped in the car days ago, just to find out one of them had already found it and did it days ago. I've been in situations exactly like that! I did find out that the guys in the movie are all recovered addicts, sadly one of them OD'd shortly after the movie was released, which makes the whole thing hit home that much more.

Which ones are yall thinking of?
 
Ooh that sounds interesting, I gotta watch that.

I'm tempted to name the usual suggestions, requiem for a dream, trainspotting, but while I think they get parts of it right, and are good movies. I'm not sure I can really say I think either are spot on.

I prefer requiem of the two, but its problem is it's too heavily into the negative aspects. And as destructive as heroin is. No portray of heroin addiction is complete without the "good" side of it too.

I suspect filmmakers and such don't wanna show too much of it for political reasons. But the simple fact is,there are good parts to heroin.

We wouldn't end up addicted and going back to it again and again if it did nothing for us. My heroin addiction cost me pretty much everything I had. But I still frequently find myself remembering fondly the good times I've had on it.

Requiem also portrays things a bit too simplisticly and quickly.

Still good though.
 
I don't think there can be one - all films must show drugs in a negative light by law.
 
Is there one you find to have an especially true portrayal?
I agree with the staples, Trainspotting and Requiem. But you should totally check out A Thousand Junkies. I think the most interesting things is that it really is just them waiting to score all day, so to me there's nothing closer to a true portrayal than that right?! All the parking lots we sat around waiting in..... hundreds of hours. One of the characters talks about the number of hours he's spent waiting vs. actually getting high. Really great movie.
 
Hah. Yeah that's pretty spot on.

What is it with heroin dealers that they universally leave you waiting around sick for fucking hours.
 
I didn't think trainspotting was true to life at all really - massively overestimated the supposed "Power" that heroin has to "enslave" the addict - I've taken heroin maybe twice a year for 14 years - never found it even remotely addictive. And it ignored all the people who are prescribed heroin and live healthy, normal lives.
 
JessFR said:
Ooh that sounds interesting, I gotta watch that
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And me, not seen that one, or heard of it till now

Trainspotting is a good film but I certainly wasn't like that as a heroin addict,
That film portrayed the worse of heroin addicts, even though I've been to Scotland and there are junkies like that there, and other places just not all of us eh

I like the old heroin film with Al Pachino and Katie Winn in it it's called "The Panic in Needle Park"

I also like another film called "Junk" that I first read as a book
 
I think there is a big problem if you want to show how the "typical" heroin addiction looks like. It is such a big spectrum that it is impossible to encompass it all. Just in my life I have seen many different scenes. During the war in my country there were scene that would make Trainspotting look like few rich junkies having fun in their villa. Then few decades after war ended and I know very functional heroin addicts that you would never guess are using for years. Like high school techers and so on. It is a big spectrum, from case to case and from country to country. Though, that waiting for a dealer movie looks like something universal. 🤣 Thank you for that. Will watch it.

P.S. If I was forced to choose, from a few heroin related movies I watched, I would go with a Trainspotting. I knew people like that and it describes that part of the spectrum quite well.
 
I don’t have the personal perspective of a heroin user but the character played by Ben Mendelson in the Movie Killing Them Softly has always struck me as a very accurate portayal of a strung out but highy intelligent junkie thinking they have the best idea ever to scam a buck and then gradually disintegrating as it all fucks up.
 
Atelier3 said:
I don’t have the personal perspective of a heroin user but the character played by Ben Mendelson in the Movie Killing Them Softly has always struck me as a very accurate portayal of a strung out but highy intelligent junkie thinking they have the best idea ever to scam a buck and then gradually disintegrating as it all fucks up.
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OHHH, such a good point. He does a fantastic job of it. Actually the first movie I have seen him in and I swore he was high. Such a great actor.
 
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