Addiction and Recovery Film Series
These are films I'm planning on using in a film series to get people to think about their use or misuse of chemicals or behaviors. Some of these films only showcase the problem without suggesting a solution. However, I'm hoping that they still can help if shown to audiences that are solution-oriented.
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- DirectorBetty ThomasStarsSandra BullockViggo MortensenDominic WestA big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsNick NolteSissy SpacekJames CoburnA deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsJames WoodsMelanie GriffithVincent KartheiserIn the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsJohnny DeppPenélope CruzFranka PotenteThe story of how George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsJames WoodsSean YoungJohn KapelosA real estate developer who enjoyed short-lived success seeks to regain his edge by using cocaine, but takes himself to new lows as he gets lost in the downward spiral of drug addiction.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsMickey RourkeFrank SengerAdrien BrodyParoled after 8 years in prison, Bullet's picked up by his brother and a friend. Bullet assaults a drug dealer and two customers. Things escalate.
- DirectorNeil ArmfieldStarsHeath LedgerAbbie CornishGeoffrey RushA poet falls in love with an art student who gravitates to his bohemian lifestyle -- and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship alternates between states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJack LemmonLee RemickCharles BickfordAn alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together.
- DirectorDebra GranikStarsVera FarmigaHugh DillonClint JordanA woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsFredric MarchMiriam HopkinsRose HobartDr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMatt DillonKelly LynchJames Le GrosA pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.No solution suggested.
- DirectorPeter CohnStarsRichard LewisLiza HarrisLiam AhernThe lives of Jim and other alcoholics in and outside an AA meeting.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsBen AffleckSamuel L. JacksonKim StauntonA young lawyer and a businessman share a small automobile accident, and their mutual road rage escalates into a feud.
- DirectorGlenn Gordon CaronStarsMichael KeatonKathy BakerMorgan FreemanA hustling drug addict checks himself into rehabilitation to escape trouble with the law and realizes that it's exactly what he needs.
- DirectorDan RushStarsWill FerrellRebecca HallChristopher Jordan WallaceWhen an alcoholic relapses, causing him to lose his wife and his job, he holds a yard sale on his front lawn in an attempt to start over. A new neighbor might be the key to his return to form.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsMark WahlbergChristian BaleAmy AdamsBased on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.
- DirectorMichael CristoferStarsAngelina JolieFaye DunawayElizabeth MitchellThe story of the life of Gia Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s, from her meteoric rise to the forefront of the modeling industry, to her untimely death.
- DirectorJohn KortyStarsWilliam ShatnerRuth RomanWendell BurtonA 15-year-old girl in late-1960s America is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs and eventually seeks help.
- DirectorVondie Curtis-HallStarsTupac ShakurTim RothThandiwe NewtonTwo friends try to kick their drug addiction after a friend dies from an overdose, when they try to enroll in a detox program, things quickly go wrong.
- DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsJennifer ConnellyBen KingsleyRon EldardAn abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.
- DirectorCaveh ZahediStarsCaveh ZahediChristoff ColasRebecca LordAutobiographical comedy about a recovering sex addict, about his obsession with prostitutes, and how that affected his relationships and his life altogether.
- DirectorJack HofsissStarsJill ClayburghNicol WilliamsonDianne WiestA true story about Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Gordon's Valium addiction and her desperate attempts to kick the habit.
- DirectorJamin WinansStarsChristopher Soren KellyQuinn HuncharJessica DuffyA mysterious creature, known as Ink, steals a child's soul in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip to join the Incubi - the group of supernatural beings responsible for creating nightmares.
- DirectorAlison MacleanStarsBilly CrudupRobert Michael KellyTorben BrooksA young man, often high on drugs and alcohol, careens through life and makes his way toward recovery and redemption.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.No solution suggested.
- DirectorMarek KanievskaStarsAndrew McCarthyJami GertzRobert Downey Jr.A college freshman returns to L.A. for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsCarol BurnettLloyd BridgesMarian MercerThis made-for-television movie is a dramatization of the life of the founder of Los Angeles's first alcoholic recovery center for women, Beatrice O'Reilly.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.No solution suggested.
- DirectorTodd LouisoStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanAnnie MorganKathy BatesA depressed widower spends his time huffing gasoline fumes, buying toy planes and acting reckless in public while avoiding reading his wife's suicide note.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsMariette HartleyPaula PrentissShelby BalikCindy Lightner relentlessly tries to spearhead the drive for the national anti-drunk driver legislation after her own daughter becomes the victim of a hit-and-run by a drunk driver.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsFrank SinatraKim NovakEleanor ParkerA junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
- DirectorRichard T. HeffronStarsDick Van DykeLynn CarlinDon PorterA successful public-relations man's refusal to admit his alcoholism jeopardizes his career, his family, and his life.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsJane FondaJeff BridgesRaul JuliaA washed up, alcoholic actress who is prone to blackouts wakes up next to a murdered man. Did she kill him and, if not, is she in danger?
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsJennifer Jason LeighCampbell ScottMatthew BroderickDorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJames WoodsJoBeth WilliamsJames GarnerThe story of Bill Wilson and the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsRena OwenTemuera MorrisonMamaengaroa Kerr-BellA family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
- DirectorRichard KwietniowskiStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanMinnie DriverJohn HurtA bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.
- DirectorDavid VelozStarsBen StillerMaria BelloJay PaulsonA comedy writer struggles to overcome his addiction to heroin while putting his professional and personal life in danger.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMeryl StreepShirley MacLaineDennis QuaidA substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she is forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsAnne HathawayRosemarie DeWittDebra WingerA young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..No solution suggested.
- DirectorLili Fini ZanuckStarsJason PatricJennifer Jason LeighSam ElliottTwo small-town Texas cops go undercover to catch a major drug dealer and are sucked into the drug culture, compromising their assignment.
- DirectorD.J. CarusoStarsVal KilmerVincent D'OnofrioAdam GoldbergAfter a tragic incident, a man drifts into a world populated by thugs and speed junkies.
- DirectorBobcat GoldthwaitStarsBobcat GoldthwaitJulie BrownBruce BaumShakes is good at his job as party clown - when he's sober and shows up. Five druggy clowns frame him for the murder of his boss.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorJonas ÅkerlundStarsJason SchwartzmanJohn LeguizamoPatrick FugitA drug dealer introduces one of his customers, a 'speed freak', to the man who runs the meth lab. A crazy three-day adventure ensues.No solution suggested.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsAl FrankenLaura San GiacomoVincent D'OnofrioA self-help advocate struggles to put his dysfunctional family in its place.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsHalle BerryBenicio Del ToroAlison LohmanA recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorJonathan HockStarsChris HerrenRick PitinoBill ReynoldsChris Herren was a "can't miss" basketball superstar until drug addiction eventually destroyed his career. With the support of his wife and family, Herren struggles to conquer his demons and reclaim his life.
- DirectorLuis MandokiStarsMeg RyanAndy GarciaEllen BurstynThe seemingly perfect relationship between a man and his wife is tested as a result of her alcoholism.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsBen KingsleyTéa LeoniLuke WilsonWhile drying out on the West Coast, an alcoholic hitman befriends a tart-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it's time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores.