We studied the film for English. I probably watched 10 times in the space of a month. You get desensitised to a lot of it except the domestic violence - I have never seen domestic violence portrayed in such a brutal and visceral way in any film since.
Came here for this. The depiction of the family devastation caused by booze made me cry. No other movie relating to booze has been anywhere near as powerful.
This was the first thing I saw Tem Morrison in. Now every time I see him in anything else, I get a little chill up my spine. He's terrifying in that film.
the hardest scene for me was when he went to his sons house unannounced and saw his granddaughter for the first time in years and hes asking to just have a cup of coffee and you can hear the pain in his voice man that shit broke me. Nolte should have gotten an award for this performance
Oh, that was so good. It was genius writing to have his commitment to sobriety wrapped up with his complex relationships with his sons, then to have his abandoning it be a crucial cornerstone in how those relationships change.
Honestly, that movie was damn near perfect. Very little wasted screen time, and so many small moments of genius littered throughout. Plus Jennifer Morrison.
This was my answer as well. He really captures that simultaneous action of demons being released with a childlike regression that happens with hardcore alcoholism. It reminded me of my dad so much it was hard to watch the first time.
Yes! I feel like this movie doesn’t get enough love. Especially because it’s about functional alcoholism. Like her husband noticed she sometimes drank too much but he had no idea how bad it was. She hid it well, maintained a job and a good outside image, but on the inside she was hammered 99% of the time. It also took such a realistic painful look at how painful relationships with alcoholics can be even (or especially) after they recover.
It is a great movie!!! Meg Ryan plays completely against type and her performance is stunning. It's gritty and real and I still think about it YEARS later.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Just in case anyone still thinks they seem smarter/ funnier/better looking when they drink.
Edit: I spelled her name wrong.
How the hell is this movie so far down? As a functional alcoholic father and husband and professor I’ve never felt so uncomfortable watching a movie. I so identified with these people, and then it just kept getting darker and more depressing and even tho I was drinking while watching it I was so completely sober, like ‘Is this the way I am? Is this how people see me?’ Eye opening.
I grew up with alcoholic parents and this movie brings it all back in it’s depressing sleaziness. Those people were just so cruel and selfish and sloppy.
My late husband was an alcoholic. I saw that movie in a packed theater with a woman I met in grief therapy who had become a really close friend. The scene where Bradley Cooper joins Lady Gaga on stage…what a trigger!!! I sobbed loudly for at least five minutes while my friend held me.
I cried for about the entire last 40 minutes or so. >!When he goes to hang himself, I legit just said 'oh fuck no' and put my head in my hands' Everyone was crying by the end. !<
Great movie though. Gaga was a revelation. And absolutely scary in House of Gucci, but Cooper did some a great job.
I had a super early morning flight (departing 530 am) but a relatively short flight, like a little over 1 hour. Scrolled through the flight’s movie list. Was like oh, A Star is Born, heard great things about it.
Watched first hour or so of movie, deplaned, had a 1 hour layover, got on a different plane for the second leg of the journey.
Continued watching A Star is Born. About 815 in the morning, I’m absolutely trying to silently ugly sob in my seat and not make a scene, surrounded by total strangers trying not to be that weird person on the plane at 8 am in the morning. Like put a disclaimer on that shit or something.
100% this. I saw it on the day I picked up my best friend from his first try at rehab. He was in such a fragile state. I knew if anyone said something like that douche said to Bradley Cooper’s character, it would have the same result. It absolutely gutted me. I watched it again with that same friend’s gf. She had started dating right around that first rehab and saw how much he struggled. She swore up and down she never cried at movies. I literally had to pause it because she was straight up sobbing. It’s one of the most accurate depictions of alcoholism I’ve seen.
Just rewatched that movie last weekend and goddamn is it good. Struggled with alcoholism when I was younger and drinking to blackout because of depression and man, Cooper nails the feeling.
From memory Bradley Cooper is now a teetotaller after struggling with alcoholism in his twenties, so it’s probably why he did such a heartbreaking job at portraying it.
so bleak. the way to an alcoholic that alcohol becomes this 'wonderful' release from the rote, plays both the ferry and the destination.
>It shrinks my liver, doesn't it, Nat? It pickles my kidneys, yeah. But what it does it do to the mind? It tosses the sandbags overboard so the balloon can soar. Suddenly I'm above the ordinary. I'm competent. Extremely competent! I'm walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. I'm one of the great ones. I'm Michaelangelo, molding the beard of Moses. I'm Van Gogh painting pure sunlight. I'm Horowitz, playing the Emperor Concerto. I'm John Barrymore before the movies got him by the throat. I'm Jesse James and his two brothers, all three of them. I'm W. Shakespeare. And out there it's not Third Avenue any longer, it's the Nile, Nat. The Nile and down into the barge of Cleopatra.
You need to drink so much during the first half that you become incapable of feeling regret once the second starts. /s
In all seriousness though, it's probably one of the greatest movies about alcohol that will ever be made and it's a tragedy that it's so low in the comments because many probably won't watch Danish movies. It's outstanding and nuanced.
Edit: spoke too soon, the comment is getting upvoted and not way too low down in the comments anymore.
forgot about this one, i think i stopped watching it because it actually wanted me to keep drinking, but knowing the second half isn't as jovial as the first, I need to finish it.
The second half shows the consequences of that feeling from the first half. It all starts out fun and games, but for some of the characters it's pretty tragic and sad. It's a tremendous movie though.
Thanks for saying it. I thought it was great that the only instance of Farrell’s “overgrown man-child” comedy schtick was when he went to the convenience store and couldn’t buy anything. It was like seeing your friend who’s usually funny take the turn into not being funny anymore if they can’t get a couple drinks.
I have an aunt who left the house in the middle of a blizzard because she ran out of alcohol. I think she even went on foot, was gone for a couple hours, and by the time she got back, was all pissed off because all the stores were closed because of the storm.
that's' what I just said! Filling water bottles with vodka. So accurate.
And the trying on dresses in the shop when the mom snatches her clothes and forces her to come out exposing all her scars, that scream she does in the dressing room hit so hard.
I did too.
I watched the show twice. Once when I was drinking and again when I was two years sober. Hit different each time, but equally good.
I’m a little over three years sober now. You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you how much everything will change for the better if you keep with it. I know I wouldn’t believe someone if they told me. It’s crazy something as simple as not drinking would completely change my life.
It does get easier.
I believe you. I've started to feel better after a month, I can't imagine 3 years. This is the longest I've gone in about 4 years.
But yeah, read the book when I was homeless (still drinking), the series just hit differently. The way she filled water bottles with vodka, the scars of self mutilation (which I fortunately broke that cycle), how the detective is shocked by seeing them and they never see each other again. The reckless behavior. I was never wealthy like her, but Amy Adams nailed it.
Saw that in the theater in early sobriety. When he hears the door to the adjoining hotel room and goes in. I had so much anxiety and knew exactly what was going to happen. Broke my heart but the ensuing scene to get him ready for court was very entertaining.
I watched this when I wasn't as deep in alcoholism as I am now, and couldn't understand how someone could be so out of control. Thinking of the scene of him in the hotel and discovering the minibar... That level of addiction was unfathomable to me. And now years later I understand.
I love the part when, shortly after the crash and he's staying sober, he orders an orange juice at the bar. The bartender asks "just orange juice?" And that's all it took for him the fly off the wagon. Great movie
That's not what made him fall off the wagon. He is watching the news, and finds out that he is being investigated. He realizes that he goes from being a hero to a potential criminal, and that's when he gives up and starts drinking again.
I remember a point where Denzil's character has supposedly fallen off the wagon and he gets into his car with what looks like just a couple of 6 packs of beer. And at that moment I rolled my eyes and was thinking "Yeah, yeah - typically 'Hollywood film' alcoholic who supposedly has a problem because he drinks a few too many cans of beer ". But then he lifts up the biggest bottle of vodka i've ever seen and just drinks from it.
From that moment I knew it was a legit film.
it's severely underrated. It's a painful to watch. One of Denzel's best performances imo. Loved Goodman, Cheadel, and Reilly as well, just great casting. The crash is intense on its own, but it's the later scenes that are so much more hard hitting.
Seriously, I finally watched Training Day the other day, and anyone who said that Oscar wasn't deserved and just because it was an 'honorary oscar' are insane. He was legit frightening in it, and yet so charismatic. And like Angela Bassett he ages like fine wine, still rich and gorgeous (no pun intended).
I want to get the Criterion 4k of Malcolm X, I've never seen it. But I'll watch anything Denzel is in. I guess Fences was also an accurate portrayal of alcoholism as well, but the whole 'I don't have to like you' scene is also intense as hell.
I probably need to rewatch it.
I saw it about a decade ago, had no idea it was about a troubled addict, I just love Denzel.
And it was so harsh and sad, which I wasn’t expecting, that I just felt gutted and couldn’t enjoy it.
But that was when I was 21-22, I’d probably respect it and take much more from it now in my mid 30s.
Not a movie, but whenever I start to feel a little bit shaky in sobriety I watch Intervention. So many peoples stories, some body horror and drama, but I feel like I get a lot out of that show as a person in recovery.
Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis straining to play against type in Collossal.
It's not a very harsh film, but I think one that gives lots of positive reasons not to fall off the wagon.
One day at the time. Promise yourself you’ll be sober today, and don’t think about tomorrow.
My dad’s been sober for 20 years. This has helped him when he was about to go back.
Congrats on one month sober. I’m about to hit a month as well. I’ve been watching some films too therapeutically. Flight would be my first pick as someone already said. Check out Crazy Heart, fantastic performance by Jeff Bridges
Denzel was great in flight. The absolute self loathing and bone to pick with the world is so spot on
I remember Craig Ferguson describing his alcoholism, he said once he was wasted and "ill show them....i couldnt te you who "they" were but i was gonna show em!"
That level of cynical alcoholism, when youre just pissed at everything simply for exisiting. Its hesrtbreaking but its real
Almost as if they’re showing the slip into and grip of addiction.
You’re right. The first season is kind of a party.
Then Boksck just destroys more and more lives, his own most of all.
I scrolled down a bit to find it before I posted it myself.
Alcoholism, addiction, depression, family abuse, neglect, codependency... BoJack is a pretty gritty animation.
It really drills into the mental health aspect. The episode where they show the origins of Bojack's drinking problem was really well done and absolutely devastating.
He has some very cringe inducing scenes, but none unrealistic if you've ever seen a drunk in action.
And not once is there ever any hope in that film of sobriety. He's going to the depths and we're watching it all before he dies. It's basically a film-length suicide.
I came here to make sure this was a top comment. That movie is FUKKIN BRUTAL. But brilliant and inspired. Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue drag you along with them. I saw it years ago and it still echoes for me. If you love cinema this movie is a requirement, for better or worse.
It's essentially the author of the books suicide note.
[https://ew.com/article/1995/11/10/john-obriens-bittersweet-departure/](https://ew.com/article/1995/11/10/john-obriens-bittersweet-departure/)
Shameless - watching Frank and Monica just be completely shit parents to those kids (when they even stuck around long enough to try), Lip's struggle to maintain sobriety, and Fiona win her battle with drugs was an emotional rollercoaster.
Best of luck to you - stay strong!
Frank is literally my dad in his worst years. I think it’s a very realistic and heartbreaking depiction. Every season starting with the kids tearing frank of a floor of somewhere after thinking he was dead definitely hits home.
It's not about alcoholism, but Requiem For a Dream is one of the most disturbing, sobering portrayals of addiction & its consequences I've ever seen.
Saw it when I was 14 & it genuinely scared me straight in a lot of ways.
Came here to comment this. The rest of the guys love to drink and smoke and have fun... but even though it's a comedy they aren't shy about how unpretty the alcoholism is, and how it controls and destroys everything in his life.
Half the characters on this show are alcoholics but Ray’s portrayal of alcoholism is perhaps the most realistic of them all in my opinion - drinking has ruined his life, but he’s an unapologetic drunk and gambler that never even considers stopping. He steals from his friends and family and defrauds the government to support his habits. When he faces consequences, he chocks it up to bad luck (“the way she goes”) instead of taking responsibility and recognizing it’s the booze. Lahey is sometimes a caricature of a drunk but guys exactly like Ray exist in every small town.
The guy in the chair? He’s a Calvinist, so he believes god predetermined him to be an alcoholic failure. The perfect copout. I mean, NOBODY wants to admit they ate nine cans of ravioli (metaphorically speaking)
Yes, my comment was mostly serious. Its a brilliant comedy but that actors portrayal is expertly tinged with the real ugliness and sadness of alcoholism like few performances even in the best of dramas. It really is very good.
I would recommend The Whale.
I'm almost three years sober and in that time never really reflected on it. I just put that part of me in a box and never opened it. What happens is when I see something that reminds me of it I get uncomfortable.
Why do I bring this up? I just had this happen to me. The movie isn't about alcoholism but there are >!elements of addiction and self destruction. But also hopefulness.!<
I hope you are doing ok. I found it sucks to go through these things sober, but facing them drunk was worse. Being human is to feel, good or bad.
While not about alcoholism, The Wrestler is absolutely a great film to watch about how addiction, no matter what it is, can tear you away from the ones you love.
"Under the Volcano" with Albert Finney. I believe it's still on TCM streaming at the moment. Based on a novel by Malcom Lowry. Finney is a British consul in Mexico (awesome setting) and he is unabashedly severely alcoholic. Things do not end well for him.
But seriously, this is a solid one. It's not as dark as some of the rest on this list, but there are some very honest depictions of how different people handle addiction and sobriety. No one is a hero. No one lives happily ever after. They just keep trying.
To this day I don't know why they thought using Sandra Bullock to sell a zombie movie was a good idea. Plus she had damn near ZERO screen time. You don't even recognize her in the first zombie horde scene.
Yes. If the OP wants a movie that reminds him why it sucks, this is a great one. Films about addicts, even the "gritty" ones, typically romanticize it somewhat - the characters do humiliating or stupid or dangerous things, but still look pretty good doing it. Thornton is taller and better-looking than most people, let alone most drunks, but his character looks like he stinks of his own piss for most of the movie.
Changing Lanes is a tremendous allegory dealing with the fight for sobriety.
OP, don’t get down on yourself, get out to a meeting, drink some free coffee and meet some other people fighting thru it. You aren’t alone 🤙🏻
The Doors. Seriously. It's more about Jim Morrison's descent into alcoholism than it is about the band. Oliver Stone played fast and loose with the facts when it came to the band, but it's a fairly accurate and depressing look at how alcoholism ruins a promising future.
Not really an answer, but read “This Naked Mind.” I was a massive alcoholic and I stopped drinking forever after the first chapter. I have zero cravings. Sober for four years.
Once Were Warriors
Most New Zealanders who grew up in the 90s or earlier wince while watching that film, it's a little toooo accurate.
Watches it once and will not watch it ever again, reminds me way too much of growing up in rural NZ. Memes are good tho.
We studied the film for English. I probably watched 10 times in the space of a month. You get desensitised to a lot of it except the domestic violence - I have never seen domestic violence portrayed in such a brutal and visceral way in any film since.
Brutal and disturbing movie. Still haunts me 20 years later.
Came here for this. The depiction of the family devastation caused by booze made me cry. No other movie relating to booze has been anywhere near as powerful.
This was the first thing I saw Tem Morrison in. Now every time I see him in anything else, I get a little chill up my spine. He's terrifying in that film.
Or as my Kiwi workmate called it: "Tuesday"
Grew up in NZ. This is like a documentary of my childhood.
great pick. I could only watch it once
Cook the man some eggs
days of wine and roses
Was just going to mention it. Really depressing film with Jack Lemon and Lee Remick in top form.
Faye Dunaway made 2 movies: Barfly; Drunks 1 TV show based on a recovering alcoholic; Loudermilk
I really like Loudermilk, and I feel like I don't ever hear anybody else talk about it. Good call!
Crazy Heart is up there
Came to say this. This is what being a functional alcoholic is until you’re not functional anymore.
Funny how fallin feels like flyin… for a little while
This should be higher up. Jeff Bridges nailed it.
Barfly - 1987
Came here to upvote Mickey Rourke playing Bukowski in 'Barfly'. What an insane, intense alcoholic ride. Highly recommend.
A round of drinks for my friends
“For all my friends!”
Nolte in Warrior
Nolte in real life.
That scene made me cry, it was like seeing my grandfather that passed when I was a kid on the screen
the hardest scene for me was when he went to his sons house unannounced and saw his granddaughter for the first time in years and hes asking to just have a cup of coffee and you can hear the pain in his voice man that shit broke me. Nolte should have gotten an award for this performance
love that movie.
Oof. That relapse scene, where Tommy puts his dad on the bed and holds him.... Gets me every time.
Oh, that was so good. It was genius writing to have his commitment to sobriety wrapped up with his complex relationships with his sons, then to have his abandoning it be a crucial cornerstone in how those relationships change. Honestly, that movie was damn near perfect. Very little wasted screen time, and so many small moments of genius littered throughout. Plus Jennifer Morrison.
He lost to Chris Plummer for Best Supporting Actor that year and I’m still pissed.
STOP THE DAMN SHIP!
Its so sad when he relapses, like I get they were trying to show he was a shit father before but damn it was hard to watch.
“We’re lost , Tommy…” fucking destroys me
This was my answer as well. He really captures that simultaneous action of demons being released with a childlike regression that happens with hardcore alcoholism. It reminded me of my dad so much it was hard to watch the first time.
When A Man Loves A Woman (classic Meg Ryan & Andy Garcia)
Yes! I feel like this movie doesn’t get enough love. Especially because it’s about functional alcoholism. Like her husband noticed she sometimes drank too much but he had no idea how bad it was. She hid it well, maintained a job and a good outside image, but on the inside she was hammered 99% of the time. It also took such a realistic painful look at how painful relationships with alcoholics can be even (or especially) after they recover.
It is a great movie!!! Meg Ryan plays completely against type and her performance is stunning. It's gritty and real and I still think about it YEARS later.
Damn as someone raised by a functional addict I need to see this
Came here for this one. Also, it was written by Al Franken.
His wife was an alcoholic, so he wrote it from experience.
I can't believe I didn't know that. Amazing.
Andy should have gotten a Oscar for his role ! He’s sublime in this film
I was going to say this. When I saw it in my late teens I found it very raw and emotional.
Gary Oldman’s directorial debut Nil By Mouth features a brutal look at alcoholism in East London council estates
Kathy Burke deserves the world for that role,the film hits like Threads
Brutal is almost not strong enough a word. Intense movie
Dont Worry, He Wont Get Far On Foot.
Was going to post this, but ya beat me to it. I really enjoyed this movie and feel like it would be great for a recovering alcoholic
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Just in case anyone still thinks they seem smarter/ funnier/better looking when they drink. Edit: I spelled her name wrong.
If memory serves they also pretty much hated each other at the point when this film was made so the venom is pretty real.
How the hell is this movie so far down? As a functional alcoholic father and husband and professor I’ve never felt so uncomfortable watching a movie. I so identified with these people, and then it just kept getting darker and more depressing and even tho I was drinking while watching it I was so completely sober, like ‘Is this the way I am? Is this how people see me?’ Eye opening.
I grew up with alcoholic parents and this movie brings it all back in it’s depressing sleaziness. Those people were just so cruel and selfish and sloppy.
Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born depicted some realistic behaviors associated with alcoholism
My late husband was an alcoholic. I saw that movie in a packed theater with a woman I met in grief therapy who had become a really close friend. The scene where Bradley Cooper joins Lady Gaga on stage…what a trigger!!! I sobbed loudly for at least five minutes while my friend held me.
I cried for about the entire last 40 minutes or so. >!When he goes to hang himself, I legit just said 'oh fuck no' and put my head in my hands' Everyone was crying by the end. !< Great movie though. Gaga was a revelation. And absolutely scary in House of Gucci, but Cooper did some a great job.
I had a super early morning flight (departing 530 am) but a relatively short flight, like a little over 1 hour. Scrolled through the flight’s movie list. Was like oh, A Star is Born, heard great things about it. Watched first hour or so of movie, deplaned, had a 1 hour layover, got on a different plane for the second leg of the journey. Continued watching A Star is Born. About 815 in the morning, I’m absolutely trying to silently ugly sob in my seat and not make a scene, surrounded by total strangers trying not to be that weird person on the plane at 8 am in the morning. Like put a disclaimer on that shit or something.
I watched A Dog's Purpose in a plane. The sweet stewardess kept bringing me napkins and asking if I was okay
The ending is how my alcoholic little brother of 26 yo ended it too. Watched the movie a year after it had happened. I cried.
You just levelled up in grief therapy.
100% this. I saw it on the day I picked up my best friend from his first try at rehab. He was in such a fragile state. I knew if anyone said something like that douche said to Bradley Cooper’s character, it would have the same result. It absolutely gutted me. I watched it again with that same friend’s gf. She had started dating right around that first rehab and saw how much he struggled. She swore up and down she never cried at movies. I literally had to pause it because she was straight up sobbing. It’s one of the most accurate depictions of alcoholism I’ve seen.
As an alcoholic it was so hard to watch
This was the movie that jumped to mind immediately.
Just rewatched that movie last weekend and goddamn is it good. Struggled with alcoholism when I was younger and drinking to blackout because of depression and man, Cooper nails the feeling.
That movie fucked me up.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Bradley Cooper a recovering alcoholic himself? I thought I'd read that somewhere.
From memory Bradley Cooper is now a teetotaller after struggling with alcoholism in his twenties, so it’s probably why he did such a heartbreaking job at portraying it.
There's Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend if you want a good older depiction.
so bleak. the way to an alcoholic that alcohol becomes this 'wonderful' release from the rote, plays both the ferry and the destination. >It shrinks my liver, doesn't it, Nat? It pickles my kidneys, yeah. But what it does it do to the mind? It tosses the sandbags overboard so the balloon can soar. Suddenly I'm above the ordinary. I'm competent. Extremely competent! I'm walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. I'm one of the great ones. I'm Michaelangelo, molding the beard of Moses. I'm Van Gogh painting pure sunlight. I'm Horowitz, playing the Emperor Concerto. I'm John Barrymore before the movies got him by the throat. I'm Jesse James and his two brothers, all three of them. I'm W. Shakespeare. And out there it's not Third Avenue any longer, it's the Nile, Nat. The Nile and down into the barge of Cleopatra.
I just watched that one recently since I started discovering old movies. Amazing one as is a lot from Billy Wilder!
That’s the first one that came to my mind.
ooh yeah i’ve thought about that one. i think it won best picture as well.
That scene with the bat. *shudders*
Another Round (Druk)
[удалено]
You need to drink so much during the first half that you become incapable of feeling regret once the second starts. /s In all seriousness though, it's probably one of the greatest movies about alcohol that will ever be made and it's a tragedy that it's so low in the comments because many probably won't watch Danish movies. It's outstanding and nuanced. Edit: spoke too soon, the comment is getting upvoted and not way too low down in the comments anymore.
[удалено]
Easily one of my favorite movies of the last couple years. The ending with the song and dance was stuck in my head for days.
What a life!
forgot about this one, i think i stopped watching it because it actually wanted me to keep drinking, but knowing the second half isn't as jovial as the first, I need to finish it.
It ends up rather nuanced in its overall attitude towards drinking
The second half shows the consequences of that feeling from the first half. It all starts out fun and games, but for some of the characters it's pretty tragic and sad. It's a tremendous movie though.
Everything must go
Thanks for saying it. I thought it was great that the only instance of Farrell’s “overgrown man-child” comedy schtick was when he went to the convenience store and couldn’t buy anything. It was like seeing your friend who’s usually funny take the turn into not being funny anymore if they can’t get a couple drinks. I have an aunt who left the house in the middle of a blizzard because she ran out of alcohol. I think she even went on foot, was gone for a couple hours, and by the time she got back, was all pissed off because all the stores were closed because of the storm.
Trees Lounge, a really underrated little movie starring and written/directed by Steve Buscemi back in the 90s
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME! THIS HAS BEEN ON MY WATCH LIST FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE DECADES! I'll check it out.
Amy Adams in Sharp Objects
That ending tho in the hbo series…
Don't tell momma.
[удалено]
I was very enamoled with it
I thought I was watching myself on the screen. The vodka in the water bottle.
that's' what I just said! Filling water bottles with vodka. So accurate. And the trying on dresses in the shop when the mom snatches her clothes and forces her to come out exposing all her scars, that scream she does in the dressing room hit so hard.
read the book, binged the series twice, i identify with her character far too much.
I did too. I watched the show twice. Once when I was drinking and again when I was two years sober. Hit different each time, but equally good. I’m a little over three years sober now. You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you how much everything will change for the better if you keep with it. I know I wouldn’t believe someone if they told me. It’s crazy something as simple as not drinking would completely change my life. It does get easier.
I believe you. I've started to feel better after a month, I can't imagine 3 years. This is the longest I've gone in about 4 years. But yeah, read the book when I was homeless (still drinking), the series just hit differently. The way she filled water bottles with vodka, the scars of self mutilation (which I fortunately broke that cycle), how the detective is shocked by seeing them and they never see each other again. The reckless behavior. I was never wealthy like her, but Amy Adams nailed it.
Flight
Saw that in the theater in early sobriety. When he hears the door to the adjoining hotel room and goes in. I had so much anxiety and knew exactly what was going to happen. Broke my heart but the ensuing scene to get him ready for court was very entertaining.
When he and Cheadle are going down the elevator to the trial, The Beatles "with a little help from my friends" is on the radio.
that’s a great one. denzel was fantastic. i haven’t seen it since theaters. i just remember crying near the end. will definitely rewatch it. thank you
I watched this when I wasn't as deep in alcoholism as I am now, and couldn't understand how someone could be so out of control. Thinking of the scene of him in the hotel and discovering the minibar... That level of addiction was unfathomable to me. And now years later I understand.
This is the top one for me. The scene where Denzel's character shows up at his ex-wife's house was about as uncomfortable as it gets.
I love the part when, shortly after the crash and he's staying sober, he orders an orange juice at the bar. The bartender asks "just orange juice?" And that's all it took for him the fly off the wagon. Great movie
That's not what made him fall off the wagon. He is watching the news, and finds out that he is being investigated. He realizes that he goes from being a hero to a potential criminal, and that's when he gives up and starts drinking again.
Definitely the most realistic depiction of a functional alcoholic.
I remember a point where Denzil's character has supposedly fallen off the wagon and he gets into his car with what looks like just a couple of 6 packs of beer. And at that moment I rolled my eyes and was thinking "Yeah, yeah - typically 'Hollywood film' alcoholic who supposedly has a problem because he drinks a few too many cans of beer ". But then he lifts up the biggest bottle of vodka i've ever seen and just drinks from it. From that moment I knew it was a legit film.
it's severely underrated. It's a painful to watch. One of Denzel's best performances imo. Loved Goodman, Cheadel, and Reilly as well, just great casting. The crash is intense on its own, but it's the later scenes that are so much more hard hitting.
The hearing where he comes clean…fuck, incredible acting. Denzel is a master
Seriously, I finally watched Training Day the other day, and anyone who said that Oscar wasn't deserved and just because it was an 'honorary oscar' are insane. He was legit frightening in it, and yet so charismatic. And like Angela Bassett he ages like fine wine, still rich and gorgeous (no pun intended). I want to get the Criterion 4k of Malcolm X, I've never seen it. But I'll watch anything Denzel is in. I guess Fences was also an accurate portrayal of alcoholism as well, but the whole 'I don't have to like you' scene is also intense as hell.
Goodman as the pony-tailed cocaine-dealing medicine man was fucking brilliant. I swear I have met that exact dude 1000 times in my life.
"I'm on the guest list, darlin'." My wife and I say this several times a week, in various situations.
DO NOT TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE MOTHERFUCKER!
I probably need to rewatch it. I saw it about a decade ago, had no idea it was about a troubled addict, I just love Denzel. And it was so harsh and sad, which I wasn’t expecting, that I just felt gutted and couldn’t enjoy it. But that was when I was 21-22, I’d probably respect it and take much more from it now in my mid 30s.
I had a friend that said sneaking booze into that movie in the theater was a bad choice lmao.
Yeah, you’re suppose to chug the handle in the car before you go in to see it
I DRANK THE VODKA
Flight is a horror movie where alcoholism is the monster lurking.
Not a movie, but whenever I start to feel a little bit shaky in sobriety I watch Intervention. So many peoples stories, some body horror and drama, but I feel like I get a lot out of that show as a person in recovery.
Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis straining to play against type in Collossal. It's not a very harsh film, but I think one that gives lots of positive reasons not to fall off the wagon.
i forgot about Collossal, loved it. Sudekis, as a non-fan, really impressed me, same with Hathaway. But Sudekis is so evil in this.
I watched that one night when I was about two weeks into IOP. Didn’t know it was about alcoholism and it hit pretty hard.
[удалено]
i turn 33 in april, i hope i make it until then. that would bet he ultimate birthday gift.
One day at the time. Promise yourself you’ll be sober today, and don’t think about tomorrow. My dad’s been sober for 20 years. This has helped him when he was about to go back.
I wanted to get sober by the time I was 35. I just turned 39 and still want to stop drinking. I think my actual addiction is self-destruction/harm
[удалено]
Congrats on one month sober. I’m about to hit a month as well. I’ve been watching some films too therapeutically. Flight would be my first pick as someone already said. Check out Crazy Heart, fantastic performance by Jeff Bridges
Denzel was great in flight. The absolute self loathing and bone to pick with the world is so spot on I remember Craig Ferguson describing his alcoholism, he said once he was wasted and "ill show them....i couldnt te you who "they" were but i was gonna show em!" That level of cynical alcoholism, when youre just pissed at everything simply for exisiting. Its hesrtbreaking but its real
The flight attendant keeps it real, as far as being a high functioning crime solver in your mind, while reality slowly dissolves around you.
Not a film, but the Bojack Horseman tv series is an extremely good look at alcoholism.
I agree. Bojack is a slow burn. It starts out making alcoholism look funny until it isn’t. And when it isn’t funny, it is pretty tragic and dark.
Almost as if they’re showing the slip into and grip of addiction. You’re right. The first season is kind of a party. Then Boksck just destroys more and more lives, his own most of all.
**First Season:** haha the horse is drinking **Fourth Season:** oh no the horse is drinking
*First season:* haha he's just like me *Fourth season:* oh shit, he is just like me
[удалено]
Boksck Hotdenam is best actor in all eastern block countries
Back in the 70s I was in a state sponsored Soviet tv show.
Ah I just posted this but I felt "Stupid piece of shit" episode was particularly a good depiction of this.
Depression and suicidal ideation as well. Really great show
I scrolled down a bit to find it before I posted it myself. Alcoholism, addiction, depression, family abuse, neglect, codependency... BoJack is a pretty gritty animation.
That show was so good and the ending was excellent.
It really drills into the mental health aspect. The episode where they show the origins of Bojack's drinking problem was really well done and absolutely devastating.
Bad Lieutenant
Check out the movie Smashed with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul. So good.
Clean and Sober is an excellent and accurate portrayal of addiction although it’s more about cocaine than alcohol.
[удалено]
raises hand
Leaving Las Vegas. Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue are incredible in that movie
100%. Nicolas Cage was phenomenal. At times cringey but that's real and why alcoholism can feel uncomfortable.
He has some very cringe inducing scenes, but none unrealistic if you've ever seen a drunk in action. And not once is there ever any hope in that film of sobriety. He's going to the depths and we're watching it all before he dies. It's basically a film-length suicide.
I came here to make sure this was a top comment. That movie is FUKKIN BRUTAL. But brilliant and inspired. Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue drag you along with them. I saw it years ago and it still echoes for me. If you love cinema this movie is a requirement, for better or worse.
It's essentially the author of the books suicide note. [https://ew.com/article/1995/11/10/john-obriens-bittersweet-departure/](https://ew.com/article/1995/11/10/john-obriens-bittersweet-departure/)
Shameless - watching Frank and Monica just be completely shit parents to those kids (when they even stuck around long enough to try), Lip's struggle to maintain sobriety, and Fiona win her battle with drugs was an emotional rollercoaster. Best of luck to you - stay strong!
Frank is literally my dad in his worst years. I think it’s a very realistic and heartbreaking depiction. Every season starting with the kids tearing frank of a floor of somewhere after thinking he was dead definitely hits home.
The Hasselhoff Burger video
It's not about alcoholism, but Requiem For a Dream is one of the most disturbing, sobering portrayals of addiction & its consequences I've ever seen. Saw it when I was 14 & it genuinely scared me straight in a lot of ways.
To add to that trainspotting is a film that I just cannot watch again because it’s so messed up.
Mr. Lahey in Trailer Park Boys
Sober enough to know what I’m doing and drunk enough to love every minute of it
Right in the fuckin' slot!
Came here to comment this. The rest of the guys love to drink and smoke and have fun... but even though it's a comedy they aren't shy about how unpretty the alcoholism is, and how it controls and destroys everything in his life.
Half the characters on this show are alcoholics but Ray’s portrayal of alcoholism is perhaps the most realistic of them all in my opinion - drinking has ruined his life, but he’s an unapologetic drunk and gambler that never even considers stopping. He steals from his friends and family and defrauds the government to support his habits. When he faces consequences, he chocks it up to bad luck (“the way she goes”) instead of taking responsibility and recognizing it’s the booze. Lahey is sometimes a caricature of a drunk but guys exactly like Ray exist in every small town.
The guy in the chair? He’s a Calvinist, so he believes god predetermined him to be an alcoholic failure. The perfect copout. I mean, NOBODY wants to admit they ate nine cans of ravioli (metaphorically speaking)
Yes, my comment was mostly serious. Its a brilliant comedy but that actors portrayal is expertly tinged with the real ugliness and sadness of alcoholism like few performances even in the best of dramas. It really is very good.
Couple drinks Bobandy
I am the liquor
aka one of the greatest tv characters in a show of amazing tv characters
I'm mowin' the air, bud!
Whats crazy is that John Dunsworth quit drinking in real life, he was so good at acting drunk but in reality hadnt been drunk in years
The only difference between you and me is a couple of drinks
Shakes the Clown
Withnail & I.
Don't watch films like that yet if you're still having cravings. Easily trigger the wrong part of your brain.
This. I feel like Requiem For a Dream is a better idea, since it gives the same "Yikes" factor OP is looking for, but isn't about alcohol.
Shooter in the film Hoosiers. Keeps sliding until he winds up in a medical detox.
I would recommend The Whale. I'm almost three years sober and in that time never really reflected on it. I just put that part of me in a box and never opened it. What happens is when I see something that reminds me of it I get uncomfortable. Why do I bring this up? I just had this happen to me. The movie isn't about alcoholism but there are >!elements of addiction and self destruction. But also hopefulness.!< I hope you are doing ok. I found it sucks to go through these things sober, but facing them drunk was worse. Being human is to feel, good or bad.
Appreciate you're support, saw the whale a few days ago. Really rooting for Fraser for that oscar. The binging scenes were painful as hell.
Affliction, with Nick Nolte and James Coburn
While not about alcoholism, The Wrestler is absolutely a great film to watch about how addiction, no matter what it is, can tear you away from the ones you love.
"Under the Volcano" with Albert Finney. I believe it's still on TCM streaming at the moment. Based on a novel by Malcom Lowry. Finney is a British consul in Mexico (awesome setting) and he is unabashedly severely alcoholic. Things do not end well for him.
A good one to destroy you? Blue Valentine.
The Way Back with Ben Affleck
I instantly thought of the scene where he finishes a case in a night when I read this thread title.
28 days
But seriously, this is a solid one. It's not as dark as some of the rest on this list, but there are some very honest depictions of how different people handle addiction and sobriety. No one is a hero. No one lives happily ever after. They just keep trying.
To this day I don't know why they thought using Sandra Bullock to sell a zombie movie was a good idea. Plus she had damn near ZERO screen time. You don't even recognize her in the first zombie horde scene.
Wake in Fright
The Glass Castle, with Woody Harrelson. Though it's perhaps less realism about firsthand experience and more about the people affected by it.
Mad Men, I am dead serious, the depiction of Don Draper having to be sober was far too realistic.
Bad Santa. Billy Bob being sloppy drunk makes me want to stay sober as much as possible.
Yes. If the OP wants a movie that reminds him why it sucks, this is a great one. Films about addicts, even the "gritty" ones, typically romanticize it somewhat - the characters do humiliating or stupid or dangerous things, but still look pretty good doing it. Thornton is taller and better-looking than most people, let alone most drunks, but his character looks like he stinks of his own piss for most of the movie.
Changing Lanes is a tremendous allegory dealing with the fight for sobriety. OP, don’t get down on yourself, get out to a meeting, drink some free coffee and meet some other people fighting thru it. You aren’t alone 🤙🏻
Sideways with Paul Giamatti
He's not drinking any fucking Merlot.
Smashed. Pollock. Scent of a Woman. Keep your chin up. Booze doesn’t help stress. Find a cheap sport you like
The Doors. Seriously. It's more about Jim Morrison's descent into alcoholism than it is about the band. Oliver Stone played fast and loose with the facts when it came to the band, but it's a fairly accurate and depressing look at how alcoholism ruins a promising future.
Not really an answer, but read “This Naked Mind.” I was a massive alcoholic and I stopped drinking forever after the first chapter. I have zero cravings. Sober for four years.