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Russell Brand: End the Drugs War, review
By Ed Power
15 Dec 2014
Russell Brand's latest polemic was a surprise. Though End The Drugs War did not dance around the comedian-turned-activist's arguably naive belief that all drugs should be decriminalized immediately (sooner if possible), there was more subtlety than might be expected from a collaboration between this one-man anti-capitalist march and BBC3, that yoofiest of yoof channels. Incredibly, the hour-long documentary managed to pack in moments of nuance and insight: following Brand's enfeebled turn on Question Time last week it was a reminder that, actually, the crusading dandy might have some worthwhile opinions after all.
The biggest eye-opener was Brand's uncompromising stance towards the addicts themselves. A former heroin user, his hardline message was that drugs rip apart lives and that those in a spiral of addiction need to wake up to that reality – to take ownership of their self-destruction before it was too late.
In a show predictably heaving with squalor, Brand's puckish brio was a surprising asset. He knows how to work those big puppy eyes and looked as innocent as a baby seal as he attended a police raid on a London crack-house ( "a house where poor people take crack" in Brand parlance). Brand brought a twinkle of levity where all around misery pressed in – how strange that this was exactly what was required.
To his credit, he was also willing to tangle with experts opposed to his pro-legislation viewpoint. "What you are doing is taking a small section of society in numeric terms and saying society's drugs laws should be shaped to meet [their] needs," said Neil McKeganey of the Centre for Drug Misuse, fairly wiping the floor with the comedian. Visibly stung, Brand resorted to the vapid mumblings that had characterised his appearance on Question Time.
But the truly insightful scenes came as Brand stepped down from his soap box and focused on the human stories behind the statistics. We met
Samantha, a habitual user trapped in a cycle of addiction and stewing in depressed indifference in the wake of an umpteenth arrest. Several weeks after her initial conversation with Brand, we caught up with her and friend Kelly: both had tumbled spectacularly off the wagon and seemed five sheets to the wind as they cackled at Brand and stuffed their faces with bananas.
It didn't take long for the veneer to splinter: tears streaking her face, Kelly revealed that, the previous year, her baby had been taken from her in the hospital delivery room and put into care. She lurched forward, into Brand's baffled embrace. He appeared unsure whether to empathize or recoil – a reaction that perfectly encapsulated society's attitude towards habitual drug use.
Most thought-provoking of all was a visit to a Swiss facility where addicts could safely shoot up. Claude, a wraithlike school teacher with a 30-year heroin habit, provided more context than all of Brand's woolly theorizing. "There is always a story of pain [behind drug use]," he said. "If you were able to process the pain, the drugs would not be necessary." Brand had ended up a bystander in his own screed – and End The Drugs War was all the richer for it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...1/Russell-Brand-End-the-Drugs-War-review.html
By Ed Power
15 Dec 2014
Russell Brand's latest polemic was a surprise. Though End The Drugs War did not dance around the comedian-turned-activist's arguably naive belief that all drugs should be decriminalized immediately (sooner if possible), there was more subtlety than might be expected from a collaboration between this one-man anti-capitalist march and BBC3, that yoofiest of yoof channels. Incredibly, the hour-long documentary managed to pack in moments of nuance and insight: following Brand's enfeebled turn on Question Time last week it was a reminder that, actually, the crusading dandy might have some worthwhile opinions after all.
The biggest eye-opener was Brand's uncompromising stance towards the addicts themselves. A former heroin user, his hardline message was that drugs rip apart lives and that those in a spiral of addiction need to wake up to that reality – to take ownership of their self-destruction before it was too late.
In a show predictably heaving with squalor, Brand's puckish brio was a surprising asset. He knows how to work those big puppy eyes and looked as innocent as a baby seal as he attended a police raid on a London crack-house ( "a house where poor people take crack" in Brand parlance). Brand brought a twinkle of levity where all around misery pressed in – how strange that this was exactly what was required.
To his credit, he was also willing to tangle with experts opposed to his pro-legislation viewpoint. "What you are doing is taking a small section of society in numeric terms and saying society's drugs laws should be shaped to meet [their] needs," said Neil McKeganey of the Centre for Drug Misuse, fairly wiping the floor with the comedian. Visibly stung, Brand resorted to the vapid mumblings that had characterised his appearance on Question Time.
But the truly insightful scenes came as Brand stepped down from his soap box and focused on the human stories behind the statistics. We met
Samantha, a habitual user trapped in a cycle of addiction and stewing in depressed indifference in the wake of an umpteenth arrest. Several weeks after her initial conversation with Brand, we caught up with her and friend Kelly: both had tumbled spectacularly off the wagon and seemed five sheets to the wind as they cackled at Brand and stuffed their faces with bananas.
It didn't take long for the veneer to splinter: tears streaking her face, Kelly revealed that, the previous year, her baby had been taken from her in the hospital delivery room and put into care. She lurched forward, into Brand's baffled embrace. He appeared unsure whether to empathize or recoil – a reaction that perfectly encapsulated society's attitude towards habitual drug use.
Most thought-provoking of all was a visit to a Swiss facility where addicts could safely shoot up. Claude, a wraithlike school teacher with a 30-year heroin habit, provided more context than all of Brand's woolly theorizing. "There is always a story of pain [behind drug use]," he said. "If you were able to process the pain, the drugs would not be necessary." Brand had ended up a bystander in his own screed – and End The Drugs War was all the richer for it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...1/Russell-Brand-End-the-Drugs-War-review.html
I could definetly use a girl like that. Ha!