I’m a big fan of Joe Maggio films. For me, Clint Jordan is the Maria McKee of the film world, someone who has jaw dropping talent that goes unnoticed by “rule-makers”. Rare is a film that has such an impact where it can be framed in absolute terms and with a relative topology. So I approach this review from both trains of thought.The AbsoluteOnce again, Joe Maggio touches upon subjects that de-mythifies what seems to be cliché topics. Whether it is Virgil Bliss or this film, right away you know you are going on a field exercise in human dynamics that are found on the outer edge of the “first world”. It is very uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable in the sense of what a viewer digests watching “Gummo” or “Happiness”, but the discomfort which results from a certain functionality in human despair that is unexpected to the novice observer. It may be not how you or I function, but somehow, they subsist and survive. Life goes on. The acting is superb! Anyone who has gone through this with a love one know the delivery is spot-on!There is a passive tension between Sam and Ed. Sam is trying to reconstruct a life that wasn’t there, while at the same time, fighting not to be categorized by the people in her support network. In Sam’s case, silence is so much louder than words that it tends to amplify the moments her emotions do pour out. The scene when she finally catches up to her daughter is the epitome of this.Sam’s sister Ed, is complex in routine. A first time or unconcern viewer may prematurely dismiss Ed’s actions as a derivative of co-dependency. I believe Sam’s actions are 100% sincere. What Ed is trying to provide Sam is structure. Why? Because structure has worked well for Ed and she has the capacity and means to do so. Though Ed may not be happy, she seems to have a certain peace of mind, comfort in certainty. Ed’s biggest point of frustration is that she cannot understand why her approach/solution of structure/rules can’t translate into Sam’s world and this eats Ed up inside. Ed pushes harder and harder, and grips tighter and tighter, to the point that Sam wants to leave. Ed is absolutely devastated. Some have argued the devastation is a selfish bi-product of feeling abandoned. Yes, there is a point in this relationship that Ed would like to have Sam reciprocate some love back, but she can’t because Sam doesn’t have love for herself. So the real reasons for Ed’s devastation is Sam’s well-being, all the unknowns that are to follow and the sense of failure as a sister and human being. It is all realized in one crushing blow.Maggio employs supporting cast such as Clint Jordan as Dr. Gold and Tom Brangle as Ray from his prior movies. Like Ed, Dr. Gold takes a silver bullet approach to Sam’s condition with the pretentious use of meds. As a clinician, he goes with what he thinks works and attributes any improvement in Sam to the meds and dismisses any other possible solutions by the profession’s myopia. Ray is a bottom feeder. He is the typical predator that is astute to people like Sam but even craftier in manipulating them and their situation for his benefit. He is a type of person that will be quick to say, “She’s a grown woman, she’s know what she is doing.” To which I would respond, “She maybe a grown woman, but she is a person with mental illness and an addiction. Because of that, she may not know or be cognitive of what she is doing.” How do I know? I’ve been there.The RelativeThis film hit me HARD, really HARD! I’ve shared life experiences with friends and distant relatives who were addicts that had severe mental illness. So the character I can relate to the most is Ed. Like Ed I had my “Sam(s)” as well. I too, tried to introduce structure in their lives and like Ed, I pushed too hard. I thought along the lines that, “it worked for me, so it should work for them!”. And it can’t, at least not early on. Unfortunately, I lost a person close to me who was in the EXACT same boat as Sam. The similarities are uncanny for me and it hurts. In all honesty, people like Ed and myself really don’t have the need to be needed. In essence, we are respected at work and appreciated at home. However, with people like Sam, you don’t want to see them hurt and suffer any more. You want to see them heal and grow, but what you don’t realize is that they have to go through a period of personal purgatory. You can’t and aren’t able to remove that fog from them. But you CAN be there for them in that fog and as it clears, then you can be the guiding light. Otherwise, if you focus on the fog, you lose them in the process.Anyone who has been in Ed’s position knows of the addict’s routine; the lies, the manipulation, the “bar missions”, the trick out to tweak out economy, the disorder, the lack of appreciation, the glazed over stares, the random ramblings, the “Cold War” battles with the “Ray(s)” of their world, etc. But somewhere, deep inside your heart, you know there is good in them. However, trying to get that out them can mean you end up compromising yourself. There is a breaking point in even the strongest of us. I cannot speak for the addicts in my life or of this world. The only exposition I can give about an addict’s life is a point of view from the outside looking in. At the risk of trivializing and mis-categorizing addicts, it is my observation of two types. Ones who use substances to amplify the “party atmosphere” and the ones who use to escape. The latter are the ones who have entered my life.In their world, life was this moving picture, a moving picture that was slowly grinding to a halt. What they did not realized was this picture was really a puzzle delicately held together by the persons of their world. Pieces would start to disappear, but not from the edges in or the center out. It is not that obvious. The missing pieces will be what seems to be from random places. However, there is a reason for their disappearance. But as time passes, there are so many pieces gone, the picture is no longer recognizable and the person starts filling the gap with, drugs, booze, Ray(s), etc. But the holes become so big that the person can only fill them by amplifying the doses and then addiction and the respective cycle sets in.A silver bullet cannot break this cycle, but there is one thing that makes this cycle more manageable, to the point it slows down and the person can break free. That element is love. As cheesy or cliché it may sound, I witnessed it and accept it as truth. It was hard because it is so foreign and unformulated to me. But it works. For us “A-types” this require you to deconstruct your personal and professional methodology so you can see the ones you love, come back to life. It will not be easy and you will be fighting the devil and the Ray(s), but you need to have the fortitude with in that emotional context. It will be very removed and strange but if you love that person, you need to find a way and do so unconditionally. There was a time I was too logic driven, rational, analytical, clinical and calculated to say this, but I can say it now, true love, if recognized, will help pull them out of their darkness.If you are moved by this film, please check out, “Virgil Bliss”, “Laws of Gravity”, “Down to the Bone” and “Acts of Worship”.