Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

sauvage999 Although I was raised a Baptist, I no longer consider myself to be religious. Not that I have a problem with religion; saying I am not religious has about the same value for me as saying I am not blond. I do not imply I have a problems with blonds. That said, I HATE being proselytized to. I had heard that this was a great movie, but I was a bit nervous about the title. Many movies justify their glamorized portrayal of the drug world by trying to counter-balance with some well-meaning but tiresome preaching of the evils of drugs. It's like the director wants to have his/her cake and eat it too, showing "the good stuff" that sells movies while saving face with the parents of the movie's viewers. BOY, was I wrong to ever suspect any kind of phony, preachy B.S. in this movie. The closest thing I have to a religion is my honesty, which I cling to as dearly as a family jewel. Therefore, when I say this is the most honest film I have ever seen, I mean it. I cannot reveal the real reason the movie is called "Acts of Worship" without spoiling the ending. But I can say without reservation that this is the most remarkable, believable and honest film about the drug world I have ever seen. I have seen many of the genre: "Requiem for a Dream", "Trainspotting", "Traffic", "Drugstore Cowboy", and countless others. Watching this movie was in and of itself like an "act of worship", because my reverence for honesty in film-making was so profoundly embraced. Thank you Rosemary, Ana and Michael, for giving me this gift.P.S. Michael, I thought it totally sucked when The West Wing did not keep the Angela character. I was glad to finally see a believable character on my favorite show. Please come back!

tazzwum one of the best movies i've ever seen that deals with addiction- its painful and heartbreaking, but real... it is truth and doesn't glamorize 'using' like many movies do... i thank Ms. Rodriguez for bringing such an amazing movie to the screens and letting her own experiences and visions be seen. i thought the story was well done- she has an amazing way of portraying the main characters, and the way they tend to mesh together towards the end and take on different roles is hard but truth..our vulnerabilities .. it is so great to finally experience hope and success one day but it can be lost in an instant.. fear is powerful.. I feel this director just really captured the truth of addiction and the struggles of being in it and the struggles that occur once sober and the fear s that can arise and bring you right back there... i thank her for writing this and i HIghly recommend!

jmatrixrenegade Though I saw the movie not too far from the location of the action, I am not one to judge on the realism of a drug movie. All the same, it had a documentary feel to it as the other comment said, especially the background characters and locations. The lead was excellent. My only problem with it was that the script and some of the acting (the woman who helps her might be based on a real person, but did a real actress play the role? not to be mean, but her performance was a bit amateurish) at times was a bit simplistic and forced.The lead actress, however, made me stay throughout ... a breakout role.

Jason Olshefsky (Jayce) I was very glad to have other plans turned upside down so I could be graced to see this film at the 2001 High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY, USA. I found that the dry, honest directing coupled with the documentary-style cinematography tended to galvanize the film into my mind. It's been about a week now, and I still crisply recall scenes as if I had lived them myself.To elaborate, there are three things I think are key to making this film as good as it is:First, the entire feel of the picture is documentary-like. You're presented with a chronology of events about a young woman living with heroin addiction on the streets--I found it particularly remarkable that it does not beg for pity ... it really doesn't force any emotions at all, but simply offers the subject matter honestly for the observation and judgment of the viewer. Unlike most directors of this and other charged subjects, Rosemary Rodriguez chose to present the subject in an almost matter-of-fact manner.Second ... wait: for these last two points let me just say that I have no experience whatsoever with heroin or any other drug, so my opinion is tainted with copious ignorance. ... Second, I was stunned at the realism of the drug use in the film. I really believed the people in the film were using heroin and that each of them responded in a manner consistent with how I thought they should. There wasn't even a hint of the fantasy world of drug use propagated by movies like Reefer Madness.Finally, Ana Reeder was amazing. There was not a frame of footage when I thought I was watching an actress. I swear this girl was hooked on heroin and actually was living the life of her character. I am generally fascinated by the craft of acting, but once in a while I am confronted with a scene like the climactic breakdown of Alix where it is beyond my comprehension altogether how someone can possibly act that true to life but really be acting.