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COCAINE ANGEL captures a grinding and tragic week in the life of a weary young drug addict who is clinging to the remnants of his once hopeful existence amidst the stink, the sweat, and unforgiving heat of Jacksonville, Florida.
On the surface, COCAINE ANGEL might seem like another hopelessly bleak portrait of the dangers of drug addiction. Yet my purpose for making the film--so powerfully written by the film's producer and star, Damian Lahey--was to address a theme to which everyone can relate: the sad passage of time. How we wake up one day and realize that we're no longer the person we once were. Gone are the dreams and hopes and desires that once fueled our lives and gave us a reason to wake up each day. Now, all that remains is a sad emptiness and the recognition that those dreams and hopes and desires are nothing more than irreclaimable memories. Of course, when reaching the end of the line with substances, that feeling is magnified, and that is why I connected even more deeply to Damian's script. Yet my ultimate wish is that viewers will not judge Scott for his actions and will instead come to a greater understanding, that perhaps we aren't as in control of our own destinies as we might think we are. We do things for reasons unknown to ourselves even, yet when we finally manage to grasp the weight of our actions, it's often too late. But not always. Just most of the time.
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"A minor masterpiece"
-- Indie Wire
"The flip side of the sunshine state. Cocaine Angel is caked with legitimate, unforgettable grime, one that makes similar Hollywood efforts seem as fake as an orange juice commercial."
-- Filmmaker Magazine
"It's a rarity to see an original entry in the drug-addicts-spiralling-downward genre."
-- Ain't It Cool News
"Another American low-budget highlight, first-time director Michael Tully's convincingly grimy Cocaine Angel goes a long way toward rescuing the addiction drama from junkie stereotypes and self-help cliches, thanks in no small part to star/screenwriter Damian Lahey, whose shambling presence is well matched by his gift for free-ranging monologues."
-- Dennis Lim, Village Voice
"What ultimately separates the film from all the other addiction stories out there (and I thought I'd sworn off them for good after 'CANDY') is the performance from co-producer and writer Damian Lahey as Scott, the addict."
-- GreenCine Daily
"Most impressive about the film is its conclusion, which hits just the right note of optimism; Scott may be doomed, but the world he's living in turns out to have a little bit of beauty in it after all."
-- AintItCoolNews
"Effectively required to carry the whole picture on his sloping shoulders, Lahey comes through and then some, delivering a mordantly witty take on the doomed, self-pitying junkie stereotype."
-- Neil Young's Film Lounge
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