Candy: Drugs and a broken relationship

In most cultures, drugs are looked upon as being morally wrong. Through popular culture it is evident that civilised and well respected people are not associated with drug users who are seen in the light of being rundown and hopeless. The effects of drugs have been chronicled in a few films by showing hard-hitting consequences due to drug consumption. One of the few that took up the topic was the 2006 film Candy which starred Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish.

Dan and Candy are deeply in love. Dan is a poet and Candy is an artist but neither has produced any work for an extended period of time because of their addiction to heroin. From the beginning it is evident that Dan is a user and initiates Candy into drug use which becomes the base of their relationship. They do whatever is required to gain hold of enough money to buy heroin just so they can have their regular fix. As time progresses their addiction grows stronger and borrowing money does not cut it; soon they resort to stealing which later gives way to prostitution. They realise they have spiralled out of control and try quitting to no avail. In the hope of leaving their past behind them and starting a new life, they move to the country side and try leaving the world of drugs behind. But their past life and dependence on drugs catches up to them when Candy’s parents come to visit for a Sunday lunch. Dan realises that he brought Candy into this mess and watches helplessly in the hope that they can finally change their life.

Candy was the feature film debut for Neil Armfield in the directorial role. Apart from his directorial contribution, Armfield also wrote the screenplay for the film which was adapted from a novel by Luke Davies titled Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction. There aren’t too many standout points in terms of direction which is simple and realistic. One of the most important scenes in the film is when Dan and Candy isolate themselves after moving to a countryside bungalow in the hope of permanently quitting drugs. This scene was both shot and directed well as a continuous overhead shot was maintained over a three day time lapse in the film which depicted the pain the characters were undergoing at the time. The performances of the lead actors were quite good through most of the film as well. They were able to get into the skin of the character to display the emotion and physical agony which would be expected from someone who is detoxing from drugs.

The highlight of the film comes in the breakdown of the story. Most of the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist Dan who even narrates a few scenes. After the establishment of the relationship between the two lead characters, the plot is broken down into three main segments which is the course of their relationship and drug addiction. The three segments of the film are Heaven, Earth and Hell. In the segment called Heaven, the lives of the protagonists are comfortable. They are able to fend for themselves by borrowing and stealing money to take care of their drug addiction which is at a level of elation since they have plenty of drugs to manage their cravings. In the segment called Earth, they are faced with problems that an adult couple would normally face. They have stronger cravings for heroin and not enough money to satiate themselves which leads to the need for prostitution. The lack of money sees them losing their house and strains develop in their relationship. In the segment titled Hell, they find each other’s company and habits to be annoying. They are not able to stay at peace with their relatives and friends and find the need to ignore them for extended periods of time. Their drug problems are escalated here since they are attempting to give it up forever and find violent physical manifestations developing during their detox period.

The film has a stronger human angle than most other drug related movies. It shows real problems and human interactions which are caused due to drug problems. It proves that storytelling does not require shock value in order to be effective.

My Brother the Devil: A coming of age for two brothers

The relationship between siblings can be quite an eccentric bond. At times, siblings want nothing to do with each other as they live their normal lives with their own peer group and, in other occasions, they can have a very close relationship where they have a common set of peers which leads to them spending a lot of time together. Quite often, it can be noted that the younger sibling takes up to the elder and consciously or unconsciously sees them as a role model.

My Brother the Devil is a story of two brothers of Eygptian descent living in London with their submissive mother and orthodox father. Beyond the walls of their well cultured building complex lie the streets which are rampant with gang wars and drug lords. The elder brother, Rashid, is neck deep in the mayhem as a drug peddler who is part of one of the gangs. He is trying to make enough money to help his family have a stable income and to try and provide a good education for his younger brother, Mo. Mo idolises his brother and wants to be just like him which leads to him joining the gang and selling drugs around the same time that Rashid decides to quit. Rashid’s journey continues as his best friend is killed in a gang fight and he meets a well off photographer who promises him a good pay for a full-time job. Rashid must pick between revenge for his fallen friend and a chance for a better life at about the same time that he starts getting confused about his sexual orientation. Mo, on the other hand, watches his brother drift away from a life he once idolised and finds it difficult to see his brother as the same person he once aimed to be like.

Most of the course of the film steers between the perspectives of the two brothers. The main protagonist of the film is the elder brother, Rashid, who is at a cross track in his life as he is faced with obstacles of being a grown, mature man. Rashid must not only pick the right path for himself, he is also aware that his decisions can result to a completely different life for his brother and parents. While his parents are unaware of his dealings on the streets, his brother follows him like a shadow and is most interested in spending time around his gang. For the most part, the film tends to be about making the right decisions while being true to yourself with a case in point being Rashid.

The film tries to deal with too many issues and highlights too many points. While the crux of the film is about a coming of age story of a young man, it adds too many elements including ethnicity, homosexuality, drug issues, family problems, gang wars, racism and the like. These issues are merely touched upon through the course of the film and not dealt with which tends to be a disappointment. Most of the cases are simply accepted as they are and let go off after a simple mention.

My Brother the Devil is the first full length feature production for director Sally El Hosaini and is a good effort. It does emphasis the difficulty of being a minority in a big city and it plays up the raw emotion that goes with it. The use of slang and manner of addressing each other which is seen in the film seems to be a typical raw use of language directly from the streets of London. Its appeal lies in the raw magnetism of being able to understand the characters. It does not have the appeal of the audience being able to place themselves in the shoes of the characters but it merely allows the audience to empathise.

The film has shortcomings since it takes on strong topics without actually dealing with them. Apart from empathy, it has nothing much going for it, but, all the same, it does produce a good story of a relationship between two distraught brothers.