Most High

Hard to follow. Hard to watch. Not worth the time if you do. This is obviously a story written by people who have never been part of this story. This struck me as an artists impression of how to string a series of drug addict stereotypes together, poorly. The characters were paper thin. The plot was tedious and slow. The dialog and narration took away from the thin bit of story that was discernible. If you want to see a movie about chronic weight loss check out The Mechanic. If you want to see a movie about meth addicts check out Spun. If you want to see a shallow, self-indulgent drug fantasy with a very hot leading actress. This is your movie. I can't think of anything good to say about this movie so I'll just stop here. -Jahfre

MOST HIGH is a startlingly powerful debut feature from writer-director-actor Marty Sader, who gained 35 pounds and then lost nearly 100 pounds during a 2-year shoot that resulted in a tour de force performance and simply one of the best films of 2004. We first saw this film at Indiefest in Chicago in August 2004, where it virtually swept the fest's awards. Brilliantly written and acted by Sader and co-writer/co-star Laura Keys, MOST HIGH has all the soul yet none of the pretense of other anti-drug movies like REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. But this is no after-school special or "just say no" infomercial. It's a spot-on character study of incredible depth and nuance. Sader's character, reeling from the loss of his father, his girlfriend and his job, could just as easily have fallen into depression instead of drug addiction and spiraled to the same depths. The arrival of Sader is reminiscent of the debut of Steven Soderbergh; he's that kind of talent, plus some, since he also is an actor with formidable chops. Seek out this film and everything that comes afterward from this new, major talent.

I saw Most High at an LA screening, dreading what looked like a vanity project (written by, starring, directed by Marty Sader, co-written and starring his wife Laura Keys etc.) with a tired subject. Requiem For a Dream anyone? Instead I was overwhelmed by one of the most remarkable debuts I have ever witnessed. The film has an uncanny ability to connect to the heart, stun you and surprise you in its no-holds barred detail of a good soul spinning downward, addicted to doing good and then thrown into a hell of crystal meth addiction. What sets this apart from the rest of the drug genre is its refusal to editorialize and encourage weepy sympathy. Sader actually goes from 230 pounds down to something like 95 pounds over the two year shooting schedule, and the results are nothing short of harrowing.

The interviews with real addicts in the film I think are telling. The film strives not necessarily to be compassionate, but to avoid a simple condemnation of life in a drug-induced spiral.

We are introduced to the main character (and actor/writer/director) and he's an over-achieving everyman extraordinaire at work pitted against the clinical idiot doctor, easy fodder for a audience sympathy, but he plays it well. That is then followed by scenes of the same man trotting out on the softball field to see his effectively adopted father/sponsor/savior. This character while not on top of the world is at least in harmony with it, and we the audience are placed in his pocket.

But his life, and that pocket, unravel.....and what compels us most to stay with him I think is a strong DIY effort on the film, that bursts with creativity where a simpler troupe would have been bludgeoned by a limited budget. I appreciate the effort, there is panache and a pretty cranking soundtrack at times too. But it's still a drug spiral movie.

While there's no doubt that drugs eat away the soul of country like this role ate away at Marty Sader on screen, the tale feels so familiar and ill-fated that it is tough to recommend.

One side note, the title is interesting, besides the drug reference and more for an even higher high that was sparked long after this film. Looking for a recent interview with Sader, he confessed the title simply came from a Robert Plant song, but Sader sees a more mighty hand possibly guiding that choice then and more certainly his life since.

Sader, like his character Julius, strikes me as a sincere seeker, good luck to him. I appreciated this film more as an introduction to him. Like his character in the job at the mental health clinic, perhaps Marty feels out of sync with the Hollywood scene. I like the idea of characters in films that are at risk, not strictly protected by the man or woman behind the camera, but if he elevates his films to a Most High director, I'm not sure I'll follow him to the pastor's pasture.