Review of Drugstore Cowboy (1989) by Sam C — 04 Aug 2009

I was never a really huge Van Sant fan, but I thought that I would check out his second feature film, Drugstore Cowboy, for the hell of it. Now there is a plethora of films out there that deal with drugs, from films like Reefer Madness, the gangster empire of Scarface and down the gloomy roads of films like Spun and Requiem for a Dream. Drugstore Cowboy is slightly different form these; Yes, the film ends on a down note, but, then again, I've never seen a drug movie end on a good note (can't glorify these illegal substances, can we?).

Van Sant focuses on the living style of drug addicts. It would be unfair to say that this film glorifies drugs, but at the same time it does anything but demean them. One would suspect the police, who are constantly after them, to be the voice of reason in this film, but there is a point where these men who are supposed to protect us talk about planting drugs in their apartment and even beat the crap out of Matt Dillon over a stunt he pulled. This is what I found really interesting about this film, the fact that life is ultimately up to you to decide. Or is it?

Throughout the entire film we hear Matt Dillon ramble on about hexes and bad luck, like some crazed druggie witch doctor, but all this leaks into perspective. This band of people really have no control over their life: they are slaves to the very drugs that they risk their lives for. When we hear Matt refuse a puppy in the house, or the hat on the bed, he's only saying this, not out of spite, but because he feels that it's the only thing that he can control: his luck. This becomes a paradox, since Matt soon cleans himself up, and even gives a bag of drugs to his melancholy neighbor and old time friend, who is actually portrayed by William S. Burroughs. This would be considered a kind deed, along with the fact that he is cleaning up, and Burrough's character even offer's him absolution of a sort. This all turns out for naught, as once again, as we see by the end of the film, that Matt just isn't in control of his life and certain events that will follow. It's fair to say that Matt dies at the end of the film, but how? Does he become addicted to the morphine that is being pumped into his body after being shot? Does the police officer who is hellbent on revenge after being shot at and falling off a ladder finally get the last laugh? Or does he simply die from the gunshot wound and repeated kicking to his body on the way to the hospital? It's all up in the air, but with so many reasons that could lead to a potential death, it only backs up the theory that Dillon is on his own.

Some parts of this films didn't work for me. For instance, you could smell Nadine suicide a mile away, and the line she utters before they leave is like a gigantic neon sign reading OVERDOSE, while flashing and blinking. The editing is real slick, and it seems that Darren Aronofsky might have picked up a tidbit or two from all the drug montages. It's a neat little film that is worth checking out.