Cook County

Cook County premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. This excellent feature from first time writer/director David Pomes provides a disturbing look at the horrors of Meth addiction which, until now, has been mostly chronicled - if at all - in documentary films. There have been many excellent features on the highly cinematic issue of drug addiction including to name, but a few of the very best, Leaving Las Vegas, Trainspotting, and Requiem for a Dream. Cook County, while not quite as good as these classics, falls into their tradition.

One reason that Meth addiction seems to be underreported in the media and rarely seen on screen is that it is a problem of rural America. American films are mostly set in urban and suburban areas and often seem to be barely aware of the existence, much less the difficulties and complexities of life in rural America.

The story is a powerful one of a family in the complete meltdown of Meth addiction. The affect of the family crisis on the 6-year-old little girl are particularly disturbing to watch. The script is excellent. The characters and their relationships to each other are well-developed. The acting is excellent - particularly Ryan Donowho is particularly good.

The scenes of the characters using Meth that show how it affects their behavior and judgment are compelling and very believable. There are a few places where elements of the plot are left ambiguous and its difficult to tell if the confusion is the result of poor editing or intentional ambiguity. But these flaws are minor and ultimately unimportant.

This is an important film and it deserves wider distribution since so many people are unaware of the dangers of Meth addiction.

I went to see this film at SXSW to keep a friend of mine happy and all I can say is...WOW! I'm not a film student or critic by any means. I'm just our average Joe that is not often overly impressed with most of the films that come out of Hollywood. THIS film, though, was well worth my time and I thanked my friend for getting me to see it.

Ultimately this film is about good, evil, and finding redemption. Xander Berkeley plays Sonny, a father who has taken a wrong path in life and is trying hard to make up for wasted time and broken relationships. You are not always sure what he is up to or if he will redeem himself or fall back to his old ways, but he finally finds his redemption through sacrifice in a most unexpected way.

Ryan Donowho does a very fine job as Abe, a teen in the unenviable position of being his 6-year old cousin's protector in a house full of meth addicts. Abe is doing the best he can and shows a lot of heart, but ultimately the situation is way over the head of somebody with such limited resources and life experience.

Anson Mount simply puts on the performance of his career. I can't say enough about what he put on screen. You're not going to like his character Bump, Abe's uncle and the father of a 6-year old girl whose life he seems determined to ruin in the worst way. He is a man who has completely lost any moral compass he may have had. He is the black hole in the cosmic center of this household. There seems to be no end to his addiction and self serving decadence. Mount brings a realism to this character that may well make your blood boil.

The film is raw and real. As one other reviewer stated, there are parts of this film that are hard to sit in your seat and watch. However, this is only because you'll want to jump into the screen and do something to change the course of events that define the impending train wreck of these peoples lives.

To me this film was a little choppy early which is the only reason I didn't give it 10 of 10, but in the end this is of minor consequence. This film is powerful. If you are looking for a glossed over look at drug addiction, go somewhere else. This film will slap you in the face with it.

Whatever one might think about the content and context of this film, it is the truth. This is one of those exceedingly rare examples of filmcraft where everything was delivered about as perfectly as possible. The characters, the scenarios . . . the acting and direction is absolutely spot on.

I know this world, the tweeker universe and the absolute nightmare that comes with it. The story that is utilized as the delivery platform is very credible, the characters as delivered are as real as it gets. If anything, aside from the entertainment aspect that this film might deliver, this should be an educational film for anyone who is even remotely tempted to step into this universe.

Trust me on this one . . . it's a place you don't want to be, and I can't imagine a better delivery vehicle to get this point across than the content of this film.

Not even a nanosecond of hesitation . . . 10 stars, and then some.

This is the backwoods meth lab slice. A family made up of a man, his daughter, his nephew and his father live in a shack in the Texas countryside. There are all the usual hangers-on, who have all the usual partying down. One day the man's brother comes home. That means the nephew has his daddy to stand up for him as he stands up for his little niece. Beautifully acted cinema.

Okay, some of the behaviors of the users in the film rang true, but mostly they're just a bunch of cliched actions by a relatively decent unknown cast. While superior to Spun, which was so over the top it was ridiculous, this film eventually spirals into just another mediocre drama. I liked the editing and some of the dialogue, but sadly the overall impression was one of a lost opportunity and disappointment. Twenty minutes could have been chopped off of this without detracting anything. Even taking into consideraton the erratic unpredictability of meth heads, they still went beyond the realm of credibility too many times. No sympathy for any of the losers in this mess. Meanders aimlessly for long stretches. The main character? You'll be so sick of his face and voice and him spewing nonsensical gibberish.