by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
If you're looking for a movie to sell out-of-towners on the virtues of our fair city, this aint it. Cocaine Angel shines a light on the dimmest, grimiest parts of the River City, from the filthy underside of overpasses to trash-strewn parking lots. Along the way we meet a parade of drug-dealers, scumbags and whores, none with a discernable shred of "normal" left in their tattered existences. It's a side of Jacksonville a lot of us never see up close, a side most of us don't necessarily want to see. That, of course, doesn't mean we shouldn't.
Once upon a time, Scott (Damian Lahey) was your typical 9 to 5 suburban dad. Somewhere along the way (we never see the moment, nor do we need to), his entire life derailed and now he's a semi-functioning drug addict kind of living, never working and doing some dangerous playing right here in Jacksonville. Constantly drunk, high or both, Scott's days consist of scouring the area looking for more smack and keeping tabs on his junkie girlfriend Mary (Kelly Forester), who keeps disappearing for one reason or another.
On this particular day Scott wakes up with a mysteriously injured foot (when asked what happened we hear a different smart-alecky answer each time). After shooting up he heads to work Downtown where his bosses take one look at his bloody, toilet paper-wrapped foot, too swollen to fit in a shoe, and otherwise disheveled appearance and send him packing. He manages to get his hands on some money and goes looking for another fix and part-time hooker Mary. He finds both. It turns out Mary wants to go to Texas to visit her daughter on her birthday and Scott is willing to go along for the ride and help out where he can. Of course, any plans the two make are half-hearted, both more concerned with getting high to fully commit to any given task for more than a few minutes. The two are trapped in a one-step-forward-two-steps-back cycle, wishing to be better people but slaves to the drugs.
Cocaine Angel was shot at various locations all over Jacksonville over the course of about 7 weeks in 2005. A First Coast native, Lahey wrote, produced and reluctantly starred in the film while first-time director Michael Tully helmed the project. After touring the festival circuit, including a stop at our own fest in 2006, Cocaine Angel was released on DVD earlier this year. The two-disc DVD contains quite a few extras for an independent film including 2 audio commentary tracks, a 29 minute featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and nine deleted scenes.
Cocaine Angel meanders along at its own pace, not actually telling a conventional story, but merely giving us a look at the pathetic lives of these weary addicts. It's a snapshot of their everyday lives and, certainly if you've never lived like these people, that in itself is compelling. Not only do we see the effect addiction has on the characters, we also get a glimpse at what it does to their families. Most of the people we meet during Scott's adventures have small children and all of them are neglected in varying degrees due to their parent's lifestyle. As a mom, this was more powerful and more painful to watch than anything else.
Lahey can definitely weave a good story, but he's also no slouch in front of the camera. A lot of actors play addicts sort of one-note and over-the-top. Lahey plays Scott with a lot more depth and complexity. Underneath the strung out, loser exterior, there's a light struggling to shine through. It's not certain if it's about to go out completely or if it will overtake the darkness, but its there and I doubt anyone other than Lahey could have portrayed it. The performance is flawless and I'd love to see him in another role at some point in his career.
Cocaine Angel is not an easy film to watch but its well worth seeing for its raw look at addiction and excellent performance Lahey. Jacksonville folks will also get a kick out of seeing the familiar locations and the cast of locals doing their thing. While its not a film that highlights the best the area itself has to offer, it does show level of talent we have right here in the River City. On second thought, maybe it will attract those out-of-towners after all.
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