The common view of a drug addict changes depending on the person you talk to. Some consider them to be worthless dregs of society that should be thrown away, lest they repeat over and over again. Debra Granik’s Down to the Bone argues that societal pressures make it all that much harder for an addict to recover, even for a woman who truly wants to make it. It’s a thoughtful film told with maturity, but storytelling flaws at key points prevent the film from reaching greatness.

In a stunningly accurate performance, Vera Farmiga stars as Irene, a mother of two suffering from a dangerous cocaine addiction. Irene is a grocery store clerk and lives in a small town so bleak you can’t wait for the Wal-Mart to eventually come along and destroy it. She becomes so unstrung that she steals cash from a coworker to pay for a hit. Irene eventually enters rehab and falls for fellow recovering addict Steve (Clint Jordan). Their relationship hits a snag when he begins using again, making her recovery all the more painful.

Down to the Bone is not your typical film about drug addiction. It's a quiet, observant film about the genuine struggles faced by someone reaching for sobriety. The director and Farmiga have chosen to go the realistic route. A scene where she makes a trip to the local dealer to beg for one more hit is beautifully underplayed. The film also follows a different path than expected. Initially, Irene checks into rehab on her own. She doesn’t have much of a support system, though. Her worthless husband is also an addict, but is able to cope with it better and does not shy away from offering her a hit if she will have sex with him.

The film depicts Irene's daily life as a series of mundane events. She doesn't have a thought about any of it. As a grocery clerk, she even doesn't mind giving an annoying shopper a free coupon. Her biggest worry is whether or not she uses the correct code for sweet potatoes. All she wants is that one hit that will get her by for the day. Even when she comes clean, she does so with Steve’s assistance. He fills in as her drug of choice, and their needy relationship seems doomed to failure. It's commonly said among recovery support groups that it's not a good idea to date a fellow recovering addict, and this film makes a strong case to back up that theory.

Down to the Bone is also remarkable for avoiding a common trap. Just like anti-war films often fall victim to showing the excitement of battle, most drug addiction movies show drugs as a fun and hip way of ruining your life. Granik is not interested in doing that. There are no sensational gunfights, wild parties, or gratuitous sex scenes.The few times where the characters do get high, the camera pulls back so the viewer can sadly regard their fate.

The film is shot on a low budget, but Granik does a very good job of using this to her advantage. The grainy cinematography perfectly establishes the bleak, miserable world in which Irene lives. The unpolished performances from an inexperienced cast actually makes the film feel more genuine. This is a stark contrast to the facile efforts to portray drug addiction in Hollywood films such as Walk the Line, 28 Days and Riding in Cars With Boys. In fact, Granik’s direction is so intimate and the performances are so natural that you wonder just how close they are to the subject matter.

There is a key misstep late in the movie. The film is told almost completely from Irene's point of view. One time it detours to follow Steve for a key plot twist. This was a disappointing, unimaginative way to deal with the story and there were certainly better options available. Scenes like this make the film feel more like a studio film than the gutsy indie it wants to be. In another hopelessly contrived scene, Irene's husband is used as a plot device to bring her current situation to a head.

The entire 3rd act suffers from this problem. It's as if Granik could not figure out how to appropriately bring the characters to their emotional resolution, and fell victim to conventional plotting. Given the admirably open-ended conclusion, there was room to be a bit more daring. Why she chose the lazy route is a mystery, but perhaps the temptation was just too strong.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD