Curtis's Charm

Both Rennie and Maurice Dean Wint are excellent as drug culture participants, one of whom is coping better than the other. Rennie in particular seems comfortable in the skin of his character, possibly his truest work. He also narrates the story penned by Jim Carrol. Somewhat bleak, but never boring, this is a good choice for a second feature to bring home from the video store. At slightly over an hour running time, there are no wasted scenes. The grainy black and white photography adds to the atmosphere nicely.

Aside from this being a superlative example of Canadian film-making at its best, this is also, in my opinion, one of the finest movies ever made about the lives of the drug addicted.

Shot in grainy black & white in and around Toronto's grittier areas, the film's director creates a gritty backdrop for what is, ultimately, a comedic story about one friend helping another through their crack-induced paranoia, all while facing his own past demons in the process.

One of Canada's greatest actors, Callum Kieth Rennie, plays the mellow, now in recovery junkie character of "Jim" (ultimately portraying Jim Carroll, NYC based poet, most famous for books like "The Basketball Diaries", his role in Andy Wharhols Factory scene, junkie-culture writer, and so on...) off of Maurice Dean Wint's fast-paced, hyper-paranoid, cracked-out "Curtis." The movie uses many voice over tracks of Jim's thoughts wonderfully, none of them intrusive, all in context, and all adding to rather than distracting from the story's content.

Director John L'Ecuyer's film-making style is concise, clear, and real, without being overly-dramatic or heavy (considering the subject matter). His beautiful use of old black & white footage of Santeria/Voudon dance rituals during the opening of the film is fantastic, as is the positive portrayal of voudon charms and their healing powers (whether merely psychologically healing or real - no matter) is a welcomed breath of fresh air in a world filled with films casting inaccurate and negative views on a benevolent, much-misrepresented, belief system.

For anyone who wants a movie that represents drug culture in a non-hyped-up, down to earth way, "Curtis's Charm" is for you!

~T.Paul