Mental health and substance abuseare difficult subjects to handle well on-screen.
With this in mind, this list considers some of the best movies that examine addiction and alcoholism.
It’s beautiful."
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His relationships soon deteriorate, and he turns to crime to support his habit.
DiCaprio delivers a layered performance with minimal dialogue, relying on physicality for the movie’s most hard-hitting moments.
Overall, while flawed,The Basketball Diariesis one of the more underrated efforts in DiCaprio’s ’90s output.
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Now you wanna wipe all that out.
“The Panic in Needle Parkisa grim portrait of heroin addictionin 1970s New York City.
The screenplay is smart and complex(it was co-written byJoan Didion), resisting caricature or melodrama.
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
This is complemented by director Jerry Schatzberg’s documentary-like approach.
Handheld cameras and rhythmic editing immerse the viewer in this bleak world.
As usual, he makes the character more vivid than he would be simply on the page.
Despite his personal struggles, Dan inspires his students with his unorthodox teaching style and passion for history.
Half Nelsonis refreshingly unsentimental, avoiding neat conclusions or feel-good tropes.
t also balances heavy themes with natural comedy, makingHalf Nelsonentertaining as well as insightful.
He makes Dan feel real in a way that is unlike anything else in his filmography.
But a dope fiend has a pretty good idea.
Rather than going for crime film thrills, he leans into rich characterization and psychological depth.
A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
Nic tries 12-step programs and halfway houses, butnothing seems to provide lasting relief.
They bring the audience into the characters' world, making their pain and love deeply felt.
20th Century Fox
There, he meets sex worker Sera (Elisabeth Shue), and the two form an unlikely bond.
Despite their mutual struggles, they each provide the other with the possibility of solace.
It catches those little nuances.”
Set in a notorious New York City locale, a romance blossoms between two lost souls who are drawn together by their shared affliction with heroin addiction. Their relationship, marked by brief highs and prolonged lows, paints a stark portrait of life and love within the throes of addiction.
An alcoholic screenwriter moves to Las Vegas intending to drink himself to death.
“Trafficis one of two great moviesSteven Soderberghreleased in 2000, the other beingErin Brockovich.
The former is a multi-layered exploration of the global drug trade, examining its impact from various perspectives.
Two DEA agents protect an informant.
A jailed drug baron’s wife attempts to carry on the family business.
No end, no beginning.”
The plot centers on Don Birnam (Ray Milland), an aspiring writer struggling with severe alcoholism.
The movie spans a harrowing four-day bender during which Dons life spirals out of control.
The finished product is an impressive film noir, boasting the legendaryBilly Wilder’s typically stellar direction.
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The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
2’Trainspotting’ (1996)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Choose life.
Why would I want to do a thing like that?
Few films alternate so skillfully between humor and horror.
Much praise must also go to the young McGregor, who makes Renton both sympathetic and loathsome.
He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride.
Claiming the top spot on this list isDarren Aronofsky’s harrowing, visually arrestingRequiem for a Dream.
Their struggles feel authentic, rather than gimmicky.
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Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
Image via MGM
An alcoholic screenwriter moves to Las Vegas intending to drink himself to death. Amidst his downward spiral, he forms a complex relationship with a kind-hearted but troubled prostitute, leading both to confront personal struggles as they navigate the harsh realities of their lives and circumstances.
Image via USA Films
A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America’s escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron’s wife attempts to carry on the family business.
Image via Paramount Pictures
The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
Image via Miramax Films
Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends – Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can’t escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows
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Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream follows the lives of four drug addicts as they fall deeper into their addiction and pull their loved ones on a downward spiral along with themselves. The 2000 psychological drama is an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.’s eponymous novel and counts with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, and Mark Margolis.
