Acts of Worship

This well made and worthy first film by Rosemary Rodriguez is a must see film for anyone with a loved one, friend or interest in drug addiction. It is moving, informative and interesting and obviously a labor of love and hard-won knowledge. Ana Reeder and Nestor Rodriguez shine brightly in a cast of great convincing actors that bring you along into their story of pain, loss, redemption, and tragedy and hope as believably and naturally as I've seen. And the story is honest, raw and strong. Rosemary Rodrigez really can handle the typewriter and an indie film crew. I started to watch this little masterpiece 3 months ago on a houseboat with a beat up 17" TV and several noisy friends. The beautiful opening and music immediately cried out to me for a better and more respectful viewing and I packed the DVD away in a Manhattan bound bag. Last night I finally had a good movie friend over and decent screen and sound system and broke out Acts Of Worship. Both of us know the Lower Side of the the early 90's and love great movies. This is a winner. Great Story. Great Visuals. Great Locations. Great Sound. Great Acting. Great Lean and Raw Directing.

Rent or buy a copy ASAP. Love your friends and family and share it with them. Don't let go of hope, don't give up on truth. Be useful, act kindly and bravely, and see Acts of Worship.

I don't remember too much about this film, so my review is going to be vague, but this was an excellent film, and portrayed extremely realistically what its like for an addict out there. Nothing about this film is over the top or ignorant. You as the viewer are pulled in by the main character and her environment. You see what its like for someone who struggles with drugs. As someone who has never done drugs, this film impacted me more than I thought it would. Its a big wake-up call to those who don't know what its like. A big recommendation from me. Truly a insightful film. My rating-8/10 Rated R-Strong Drug Content, pervasive language and some sexuality

I believe this was a marvelous accomplishment which brought out the truth of living on the streets. Rosemary Rodriguez experienced it so, no one can say that this is cliché. Not even in relating it to other films in this genre. Alix's character is a drug addict right? but we believe her to have a grasp over it. that she is more than the addiction. this is partly true. like the director said, "there's humanity in everyone one of them". our belief at this point is predetermined but vanishes with change. with her willingness to stay clean being severed by the acts of her conscious temptations and every junkie around her. we believe her to live two lives. a straight life and a drugged up life. as in when she's playing with louie. kinda carefree, laughing. she, for the most part, separates herself from it, from the addiction, but she still has that guilt like when digna takes her picture with louie. even when she runs away from dignas place and pretends that she's clean around her friends, shooting them off and swearing at them. then, a day later she's back into her fix. that doesn't happen a whole lot in other films. Wonderful cinematography and great performances that make this film very believable. This film is very vivid and blunt with the characters addictions. It makes you cringe just seeing it. surely surreal. i like the directors use of narration from the main character's point of view or the non-verbal narration through what the character may be experiencing in their mind. What's the difference between reality and fallibility. But there's a good plot structure so it's not just random. not predictable. sure as heck not. One event stirs off the next. there's a sense of serenity that the characters meet up with and it's interesting how you seem slip out of it once again. some of it real serenity, some of it false. real heart wrenching. makes you feel for people who get involved with drugs and alcohol. how you're not only responsible for yourself but others. makes you investigate your own crutches. makes you examine your own life. yup. so anyways. Go out and rent it today!

Though I saw the movie not too far from the location of the action, I am not one to judge on the realism of a drug movie. All the same, it had a documentary feel to it as the other comment said, especially the background characters and locations. The lead was excellent. My only problem with it was that the script and some of the acting (the woman who helps her might be based on a real person, but did a real actress play the role? not to be mean, but her performance was a bit amateurish) at times was a bit simplistic and forced.

The lead actress, however, made me stay throughout ... a breakout role.

I recently rent the DVD and I think it's one of the best films I've ever seen. It's about a young druggie in Lower Manhattan and her friendship with a photographer, who happens to be a former junkie as well. The film is really well written and the lead actress, Ana Reeder is a revelation (well maybe not for me, I had the chance to see her last year in a Broadway play with Laura Linney). What I liked about the film is that while it's almost documentary-like it doesn't exploit the actors (something that has happened in other movies with similar topics), the use of music is very good and there is a monologue at the end of the film that made me cry.