Down to the Bone (2003) Reviews

The three leads were superb and seeing the original short film by the director was super. I love DVD special features and besides the short film which is the basis of Down to the Bone, there is also commentary by Farmiga and Granik. We've certainly seen these druggie or alcohol get-with-the-program movies before. This one really shines because it is so dulled and dreary. I've never lived in towns like this one, but have seen them lots on film and imagined them well from well-written novels. I never tire of realist indie films if they are honest and not overacted. I loved the music (Low one of my favorite groups). I will see this again I know it. Not a happy movie, not a happy subject, and fwiw I adored the ending.
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This movie is about 1- 1/2 hours of pure reality....excellent casting and costume design. Anyone who has ever struggled with addiction or even tried to stop smoking will appreciate this film. It definitely invades your comfort zone. But it had one mechanical defect---it did not seem to fit completely into my screen.
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Movies about drug users are usually downers (if they're remotely believable) and a little tiresome after awhile. DOWN TO THE BONE, starring Vera Farmiga (recent New York Times Sunday Magazine cover girl likened to a new Meryl Streep), qualifies on both counts, though it is a relatively good example of the genre without being able to rise much above the unfortunate routine-like lethargy that eventually accompanies these stories. "Bone" captures well the drudgery of rehab life and Farmiga gives a fine performance as the mom who slips back and forth from trying to failing. She gets good support from Clint Jordan & Hugh Dillon as the less-than-sterling men in her life. The place (upstate New York) is properly downbeat and the quiet desperation of today's lower middle-class is unsettlingly well-perceived. Debra Granik, director and co-writer, deserves credit for not compromising with the usual needs of the marketplace. Still, I hope that I have now seen my last comeback-of-a-druggie tale.
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This is a well made typical life of an addict in the mainstreet USA setting. Two others along this line are Don't (or never) Get Out of the Boat, a reality based Halfway House, very authentic like Bone, and also very good along these lines was "Sherry Baby", if you any one see the other two
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I am a very close friend of the woman and her sons that this movie was based on. You can bet it is as real as real can get. I've known her for 40 years and we are still very close friends and I saw her go through much of what was on screen. There is no Hollywood ending here. But it is poignant and very much to the point of what addiction can do to anyone. We live on opposite coasts and there is much more to the story, but I highly recommend it to anyone who has dealt with their own demons as well as their loved one's.
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