Rent Down to the Bone (2004)
3.4 of 5 from 58 ratings
1h 42min
Debra Granik brings originality to a familiar tale of drug abuse and the cycle of addiction.
The film is done in a semi-documentary style and is low key and unsensational. This overall feel is mainly sustained by a strong central performance by Vera Farmiga.
If anything the sheer mundane nature of the drug use and its impact on children is too well conveyed. There is a lack of dramatic energy and we are almost encouraged to shrug and say "so what?"
Granik's next film, Winter's Bone, is a modern classic full of that very dramatic energy.