There has been no shortage of films that have
dealt with the issue of addiction. In Cocaine Angel Damian
Lahey (who also wrote the screenplay) plays Scott, a drug
addict making his way through the daily routine of his life.
Though his addiction obviously prevents him from finding
success, he does seem to be generally functional and still
has something of a connection to his previous happier life.
We have seen this kind of story before, but the film driven
by Lahey’s motor-mouth natural performance takes a
different tack than most films of its kind. Instead of going
to either extreme of portraying the lifestyle as sensationally
glamorous or completely devastating, Cocaine Angel shows
the quiet absurdity. These characters are certainly on a
downward spiral, but their situations often come across
as humorous as much as hopeless. The specific situations
may be different, but general notion of trying to get through
the day to the next is universal.
While there’s no disputing that Cocaine Angel is
a “drug movie,” but it’s also probably
different from what you’d expect it to be. It doesn’t
reinvent the genre, but it does bring a refreshing twist
to the tired formula.
-- Dan Krovich
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