Withdrawal

Withdrawal completely caught me off guard-in the best way. I'll admit, I've never been a huge film buff, and when it came to indie films, my bar was usually set at 'pretty good... for an indie.' But this one shattered all of that. It's just a great film, period. I was hooked from the start-pulled into a story that felt raw, real, and unexpectedly gripping. It gave me a whole new perspective on addiction, and the complicated kind of love that often gets tangled up in it. I laughed, I teared up, and I walked away thinking about it long after the credits rolled. Nothing about it felt like a 'small' film-just a powerful, well-told one.

I was fortunate to catch a showing of Withdrawal at the Athens Film Festival. The acting, camerawork, and storytelling are all excellent. I found Withdrawal to be an exceptional film because it was consistently entertaining and often very funny. Considering the heavy subject matter, I was concerned I might be sitting through an "important" film that might be too depressing for a rewatch. I am so impressed, and will be showing it to my family and friends. The story is deeply emotional and there are the dark parts I expected from a film about addiction. Withdrawal also has hope and hilarity interwoven into these characters shameless need and codependent love. Great film.

Great film! I was fully engaged from beginning to end. It told the narrative of drug addiction with care and thought and you could tell it was written from a perspective of a personally lived experience. All the actors were cast perfectly as well and it didn't miss a beat. Some of the nuisances like the blood squirts on the ceiling or the emotions of delusion in justifying one's own addiction (or enabling others by renaming it as "love") are great examples. One of the things I was most impressed by was the editing and stylistic choices which I thought fit extremely well with the story that was being told. Also love that this is a film produced in my home city of Atlanta! Overall, excellent film and wish this film much success in the future! Aaron Strand is a great director.