Blow
Grade: B
Cast: Johnny Depp, Franka Potente, Ray Liotta, Rachel Griffiths, Penelope Cruz, Paul Reubens, and Cliff Curtis
Director: Ted Demme
Rated R for copious amounts of drug use and strong language


Most films about drugs try to teach us a lesson. They tell us that drugs are bad. People shouldn't do drugs. Drugs can wreck your life. These types of movies are typically known as "message movies." Even Oscar nominated film such as "Traffic" and "Requiem For a Dream" have these built-in messages. Ted Demme's "Blow" is no exception. The two aforementioned films show the destructive nature of illegal substances on a large canvas of people, while "Blow" simply shows the effects they have on one man. One man and the people in his life.

Blow possesses no real plot. It's a true story about drug lord George Jung (brilliantly portrayed by Johnny Depp), who at one time was the supplier of 85 percent of America's cocaine. At the beginning of the film, he meets his first wife Barbara (portrayed with nice playfulness by "Run Lola Run"'s Franka Potente) who is an airplane stewardess. She makes frequent flights to Columbia, and so George decides to capitalize on this. He knows that they don't check her bags at the airport, so he asks her to start smuggling cocaine (or "blow") back into the states for him. Knowing there is money in it, she agrees.

And so starts his rise to fame. Things hit a sour note however, when Barbara becomes ill and dies. The cops also catch on to his smuggling and arrest him. When he escapes from jail, he thinks he has a safe haven at home with his father (Ray Liotta) and his long-suffering mother (Rachel Griffiths). The situation is quite different when he arrives. His mother has been embarrassed by her son's highly publicized arrest and won't even speak to him. His father tries to make her see that George wants to reform, even though he knows deep down that he won't. So, George leaves, and begins smuggling again.

He meets Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis) in Columbia. Escobar is one of the leading drug lord's in the South American country and decides to help him out. George is once again at the top of the cocaine food chain. It's through Escobar that George meets his second (ex) wife (Penelope Cruz), who is a coke craving bitch and a half. After a few clean years together, and a baby, they get pretty wild at a party and the cops arrest him again after false reports of George abusing his wife. His life comes to a crashing halt as she won't permit him to see their child anymore. It's here where the movie changes gears and becomes more sympathetic towards Jung. We actually care about the plight with his daughter. He goes in and out of jail more and more for petty drug charges and he is detached from the love of his life. It's very saddening.

What I liked most about this film is that it proves to be gripping entertainment even though there is the absence of a conventional plot. Where the film lack in the premise, it makes up for it in style. Director Demme and his crew create a unique looking film that uses many different filters and colors. It's a slick-looking film with a style that is appropriate for the film. "Blow" is structured as vignettes taken out of the life of a troubled man.

What saddens me most about George Jung is that the man was smart enough to be more than this. He displays his intelligence in scenes where he is planning the smugglings. He makes good money doing this and doesn't really want to reform or give up his extravagant lifestyle. It's heartbreaking to watch this man throw his life away from some white powder. While you may not agree with his "profession," the film shows him in a sympathetic light and allows us to actually care for him. When a true story can do that, you know it has done something right.

Released early in 2001, "Blow" shows a strange amount of intelligence and fine filmmaking for so early in the year. The beginning of any year is pretty much a wasteland of filmmaking (see "AntiTrust" as an example), but "Blow" rises above that and offers two hours of entertainment. While it won't exactly have the audiences smiling and laughing, they will leave the theater with the feeling that they just saw something that was worth the ten dollars.

The acting in the film is exceptional. Johnny Depp is a chameleon. Back in 1999 he was playing a ghost hunter in "Sleepy Hollow," and now is playing a drug lord. Both roles are very different and both roles showcase his considerable talent. The supporting cast doesn't disappoint either. Paul Reubens (of "Peewee Herman" fame) provides a lot of the film's energy. Franka Potente showcases a lot of the talent she did in 1999's German import "Run Lola Run." Ray Liotta (in his third film appearance this year after "Hannibal" and "Heartbreakers") is fine as George's wisdom-loaded father. Rachel Griffiths (Oscar nominated for 1998's "Hilary and Jackie") is effective as the mother. Penelope Cruz shines in the role of a high strung wife.

Armed with a talented cast, a message, a good story, a great soundtrack, and a wonderful editor and cinematographer, Ted Demme (who's last effort was the Martin Lawrence/Eddie Murphy sleeper "Life") creates an indelible portrait of a man who would do anything for money.


-Brian Jones, 2001/2002