The Corner

It's 2009 and I have just watched the best television drama I have ever seen and it's called 'The Corner'. Having been a late comer to 'The Wire' series on the FX channel in Britain then when that finished they advertised 'The Corner'. I expected the standard ghetto junkie story but 'The Corner' has an emotional pull that hits you right in the guts. I watched the show with friends and everybody was glued to the screen and the room was in total silence during this drama. The acting was incredible and the characters stay with you forever. I can't remember the last time that I genuinely couldn't wait to see the next episode of a programme. In my opinion this show is a lot better than 'The Wire' because it has heart in almost every character and you are desperate to see life improve for them. The Corner deserves a DVD release & I'll be the first in line to buy it. The cast & crew should be very proud of making a modern masterpiece.

THE CORNER is a powerful mini-series that delivers a ruthless, depressing, and depraved view of the lives of drug abusers and dealers. Told semi-narratively by a documentary crew, the viewer is delivered into the bowels of a hellish neighbourhood in America. Being based on a true story only serves to rattle the viewer further as you get to watch all the horrors of growing up on the streets from the comfort of your own home.

Truth be told, at times, I could barely watch the events of the program as the pain and suffering of each character seemed unbearable. Each has a struggle to deal with, from a father who has fallen into the depths of heroin addiction to his son who deals the same drugs on the unforgiving streets. Yet, they still try to maintain some sense of their former selves. Gary (the father) tries to get back on his feet numerous times, but failure seems to be the only result. DeAndre (the son) has had no worthy role models to teach him the value of honest living. The failure of his parents has reduced him to no more than another lost soul wandering the ghetto for his income.

Each event in the mini-series seems timeless and not easily forgotten, as I write this now, five months after I last saw THE CORNER, all I can think of is a shoot-out in the latter half of the story. We are shown kids with guns (somewhat echoing Columbine), however the shooters are scared. And you can see it, the fear in their faces and their random shooting. I was breathless watching this scene unfold as the youths who we have come to know have to defend themselves from rival dealers who have promised blood shed. All their talk and acting macho is instantly discarded as we watch them shoot up a once peaceful, beautiful neighbourhood in order to eliminate an unseen foe. There is nothing honourable about this scene and by the end I found myself lacking breath and on the edge of my seat. It is still one of the most incredible things that I have seen on television.

The fact that this story happened in Baltimore just enhances the story that much more. Usually, when people think of the drug problem in America they first think of the big cities. New York or Los Angeles, but here we are shown that the drug problem is in the backyards and backalleys of America, as well. IT SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED.

By the conlcusion of this story there seem to only be bodies left over as lifeless as they were wandering the slums for their next high. But there is no more highs after death, there is only a gap. The absence of a person has a great effect on the lives of those that surround them. But what's truly sad is that by the end the understanding is that only the dealers feel the loss...of customers. The death of their friends only serves to limit the junkie's chances of 'scoring' easier. Herein lies the saddest fact. Hope is fleeting on THE CORNER.

I was privileged to see this movie, just a week ago. But actually I truly lived it. I grew up in the mean streets of Newark, NJ. And easily saw my life displayed in this mini-series. I too have found my way into recovery. I no longer hang on the mean corners, I am a productive member of society, trying to provide a good life for my two children. We have relocated to upstate New York, and occasionally go back to visit family. I truly hope that other's like the addicts depicted in this movie find recovery. I would like to thank all of the the people involved in this movie. It was very moving but most of all it is REALITY for a lot of people.

"The Corner," adapted from the true-life book, shows how drugs have infested a Baltimore neighborhood and how they have affected the residents.

Each episode starts documentary-style, with director/producer Charles S. Dutton interviewing one of the main characters off-screen. Then, Dutton stops and the audience follows the main characters around their day-to-day existence.

I was really impressed with Dutton's work. The series makes no apologies for the characters' behavior and presents things very realistically. The acting is strong throughout, and I have to single out Khandi Alexander's portrayal of Fran the addict/mother as exceptional.

You want to force politicians and lawmakers to watch this film. You want high school kids considering drugs to watch this film. And you want to watch this film yourself, over and over, for the sheer drama of the story and for the tremendous performances by each and every person in it.

Equally poignant were the appearances by the people who weren't performers: at the end of the series, there's a brief meeting with the real individuals who were portrayed in the six episodes, along with a "five years later" update on what actually happened to other characters whose real-life counterparts didn't live long enough (or live free long enough) to participate in the on-camera reunion.

Dutton's direction is brilliant, presenting the cold facts of a deadly situation with great compassion as well as narrative force. Although not explicitly political and never preachy, the film makes the unpopular point that medical treatment backed up with intensive rehab works and pouring money into fruitless attempts at law enforcement doesn't.

This series is a great American tragedy and crime story combined, a fit companion to "The Godfather" and "Grapes of Wrath," combining the gritty crime story of the first with the deadly grind of verité poverty from the latter to produce an engrossing synecdoche of our culture at the end of the century.

This isn't an "inner city" movie -- this is about all of us. What Dutton shows us in the Baltimore ghetto happens in rural towns in the heartland, too. One small mistake leads to another until, all too soon and too often inevitably, the chances of a happy ending become very, very slim. A universal plot, as timeless and as touching as Shakespeare's finest.