Dopesick

“Dopesick,” Hulu’s ambitious and compelling mini-series about the role of Purdue Pharma in the opioid crisis, is built around the theme of pain. Nearly every significant character, whether or not they’re taking Purdue’s best-selling drug OxyContin, is suffering.

NY Times Review.

The Anonymous People (2012)

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THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE is a feature documentary film about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

Historically, intense social stigma and discrimination have kept recovery voices silent. Mass media depictions of people with addiction have filled this vacuum, reinforcing stereotypes about people with a preventable and treatable health condition. There are over 23 million Americans in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. They, their family members, friends and allies are building a grass roots social justice movement. Courageous addiction recovery advocates have come out of the shadows and are organizing to end discrimination and the criminalization of addiction, and advance recovery-based solutions.

With the release of The Anonymous People documentary film, Faces & Voices of Recovery and our partners are collaborating to launch a new campaign, MANYFACES-1VOICE.ORG to engage and mobilize the newly emerging constituency to transform public attitudes and policies affecting people seeking or in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Whether behind the scenes or on the front line, every recovery voice is needed.

28 Days (2000)

Newspaper columnist Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) never met a drink she couldn't quaff. But when her drunken buffoonery ruins her sister's wedding -- and does some major property damage -- a judge orders her to choose between rehab and jail. Gwen won't come clean about being an alcoholic, but a few days into her month-long dry-out, she meets a fellow resident (Viggo Mortensen) who'll change her outlook on life and love. Dominic West co-stars.


DJE:  While this movie is somewhat superficial, it is well-written and fairly convincing.  It's entertaining and worth seeing.

Cracked Not Broken

Lisa was raised in the right part of town, she went to the right schools, had the right friends. But somewhere along the way something went terribly wrong. At age 37 Lisa is an estranged mother of one, and a Crack addict who prostitutes herself to help support her drug habit. Get a glimpse into the harsh reality and chaotic lifestyle of drug addiction. This film will force you to examine all of your stereotypes about the addicted - in a sometimes shocking way. 2007, 47 minutes

Full video available from SnagFilms.

Half Nelson (2006)

From Netflix: Ryan Fleck's feature film debut tells the story of an unlikely friendship that helps a self-destructive educator pull it together. In his struggle to balance his personal and professional lives, inner-city teacher Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling, in an Oscar-nominated role) spends most of his time nursing hangovers. But who could've known that a life-changing lesson would come from one of his students (Shareeka Epps)? Gosling and Epps both won Independent Spirit awards for their lead roles. 2006 106 minutes

This is a powerful and moving film. Well worth renting. DJE