In the modern film industry, there are many films about the rampant drug mafia, whose roots stretch to the Colombian drug lords. One telling example is Ted Demme's Cocaine project, starring Johnny Depp. The picture is based on the life story of the famous in the United States smuggler George Young. The film “Cocaine” (2001) has received controversy, but the topic is rather scrupulous. For example, on the Internet Movie Database website its rating is 7.60, on Rotten Tomatoes - 55 out of 100 reviews are positive. Metacritic experts and users are more critical. 12 reviewers left praise for the Cocaine film, neutral - 19, negative - 12, so the rating of the tape is 52 out of 100.
History of rise and fall
The main character of the picture is an ordinary guy from the suburbs George Jacob Young - in the pursuit of profit he planted a lot of American celebrities on cocaine. At some point, he became one of the most influential and richest people in the United States. He was hunted by the FBI, police, competitors, and even former associates. It was then that his money turned into dust, because his own life is many times more expensive than even the most luxurious mansions, yachts and sports cars.
Critics in the reviews of the film Cocaine note that the narrative begins in a lyrical-nostalgic manner according to the scheme "Childhood" - "Boyhood" - "Youth". Later begins a detailed, similar to documentary chronicles, description of the development of the phenomenal career of the protagonist in the criminal business, including the patronage of Pablo Escobar. At this moment, many filmmakers find common features in the works of Ted Demme and Stephen Soderbergh ("Traffic").
With a touch of melodrama
Judging by the reviews of the movie Cocaine, reviewers did not appreciate the flight of creative thought by the director, who tried to make an explosive mixture from the history of the rise and fall of the drug dealer, a criminal version of the notorious American dream in the spirit of The Great Gatsby. The thing is that the director is trying to focus on the fact that his character practiced only "dry" cases, not reaching the killings. But since he still does not reach the tragic hero, Demme is trying to escalate the atmosphere with Yang’s relationship with his parents, his wife Mirta and his daughter. With the author’s light hand, the mother drives George out of the house, the wife leaves, her daughter does not visit in prison. All these components, causing violent suffering in the soul of the drug lord, for some reason do not touch the viewer.
Film critics are sure that even if all the difficulties described in the movie are true, this does not mean that respectable citizens are interested in looking at them, let alone empathizing with the main character. And they are right.
Leading actors
Reviews of the movie "Cocaine", left by the audience, mostly confirm the opinion of critics. Their authors emphasize that when viewing it is better to follow not the plot twists and turns, but the amazing skill of Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Ray Liotta, who play their characters for 30 years, changing markedly from year to year thanks to the professionalism of make-up artists. By the way, make-up artist Kevin Jagger, who convincingly transmitted aging with the help of makeup, was awarded the most praise for users.
In the film Cocaine, the actors who played the main roles are truly incomparable. Johnny Depp refers to those people who are talented in everything. Initially, he became famous as a teenage idol, then purposefully made a career in auteur cinema, not claiming huge earnings. But everything was changed by “Pirates of the Caribbean”, who threw the actor to the top of the Hollywood commercial Olympus. Currently, the performer is famous not only for unsurpassed acting performances: he plays in a rock band and is engaged in portraiture. In the movie Cocaine, Johnny Depp is convincing and moderately dramatic.
The Spanish actress and model Penelope Cruz, who began her creative career on television, became famous after the rental of a series of paintings, including “Open Your Eyes”, “Country of Hills and Valleys”, “Girl of Your Dreams”, “Woman from Above”, “Vanilla Sky” . Critics are convinced that Cruz is an actress of a dramatic genre. She is often compared to Italian legends by Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren. At Cocaine, the performer’s skill is beyond competition.
Duality of impressions
In general, a two-hour tape leaves a dual impression. If you remove cocaine from the narrative, you get an ordinary drama. The fact is that the cocaine theme for cinema is very slippery. Having conceived a picture about big and fast money, the authors covered themselves with political correctness.