Addiction is a very present problem in society, and that is why it is not surprising that it has been talked about in works of art.
Next we will see several films about addiction in which this problem has acquired an important role in the development of the plot, whether the protagonist of the film is an addict or having to deal with the addiction of a loved one.
Here you will find films in which the theme of addiction is addressed, whether this is the main part of the plot or as a separate problem, along with which the characters have to live. The plots of the films will be mentioned in a general way, to avoid revealing the ending or surprise elements of the plot.
1. Trainspotting (1996), by Danny Boyle
Max Renton, and his group of friends and teenage girlfriend are addicted to heroin. They have great adventures together, but Renton is aware that he should rehabilitate and he decides to turn his life around, moving from Edinburgh to London, although this is not enough for his past to leave him alone.
This movie is a good representation of addictions in real life. The routes of administration, their short-term pleasurable effects and also their long-term consequences are shown quite clearly.
2. Kids (1995), by Larry Clark
There was about a normal day in the life of a group of New York City teenagers in the 1990s His life revolves around student parties, sex, alcohol and drugs.
This film shows the key aspect of addictions: the lack of behavioral control. Furthermore, it shows the compulsive need to obtain the drug, despite knowing the consequences, generally harmful to health.
3. The Basketball Diaries (1995), by Scott Kalvert
Jim’s life is centered around basketball. The team he plays on seems to be invincible, and so much success begins to play with his mind.
Little by little, Jim leaves sport and his home aside, approaching the underworld of the Big Apple, where he becomes addicted to heroin. His addiction will jeopardize both his health and the life he has known
This film shows in a very reliable way what addiction, especially illegal drugs such as heroin, means for the social and family sphere of the individual. The subject shows a lack of control, even though he sees how his social life is deteriorating.
4. Requiem for a Dream (2000), by Darren Aronofsky
This is another of the films about addiction that have achieved great international success It is about the lives of four addicts who are addicted to heroin, cocaine and pills. These addictions cause their lives to go into a downward spiral, ruining everything they had and knew.
5. Addiction (2007), produced by HBO and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Yes ok It’s not a movie, more of a documentary Addiction has the great advantage that it shows addictions in a general sense and also presents modern treatments and the expert opinion of specialists in the field of addiction cure.
The documentary shows how drugs affect our brain, resembling it as a chronic disease with risks of relapses. Areas involved in decision making, in turn related to learning and memory, and behavioral control, are altered in the brain.
6. Leaving Las Vegas (1995), by Mike Figgis
The writer Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage) is an alcoholic. His addiction, far from causing calm and tranquility when they are very stressed, makes them immerse themselves in a spiral of self-destruction
Fed up with everything, he decides to put an end to everything by going to Las Vegas. However, there he will meet a prostitute, with whom he will maintain an intimate relationship where both understand each other, but addictions can be stronger than their love.
This film shows how alcohol addiction is one of the main causes of suicide in people who end up committing it. Furthermore, it shows how this substance, completely legal and widely accepted in our society, leads to physical, cognitive and emotional deterioration.
7. Kronen Stories (1995), by Montxo Armendáriz
This film talks about the life of Carlos, 21 years old, who is immersed with his friends in an episode of fun without limits or rules. There is only alcohol and partying, but then he comes across his reality, which does not disappear no matter how much he consumes.
The film shows how the main element of drug consumption is usually disinhibition, unbridled fun. Recreational drug use, especially in youth, implies a greater risk in the person’s behavior, an act of rebellion.
8. Ray (2004), by Taylor Hackford
Ray Charles is a famous soul and R&B singer who lost his sight as a child. In the same way that he gains fame over the course of his career, he becomes completely integrated into the heroine
Fortunately for him, his wife’s help will allow him to share his music and change the world, instead of letting his addiction take over and drag him down.
The film makes it clear that people don’t become addicts just because. There is a whole set of elements that can cause a person, if they have the opportunity, to use drugs frequently and become addicted.
9. Russell Brand: From addiction to recovery (2012), by Russell Brand
Russell Brand is an English comedian who has been suffering from addiction for years After the death of Amy Winehouse, due to complications with her addiction and her rehabilitation, Brand decided to prepare this documentary with testimonies from addicts and specialists in the field of addiction.
In the documentary you can not only understand how drugs act through the testimonies of their victims and also through the explanations of expert doctors and psychologists. It is a work that combines both Brand’s professional point of view, as the director of the documentary, and his personal point of view, as an addict.
10. When a man loves a woman (1994), by Luis Mandoki
Alice Green (Meg Ryan) lives in what, at first glance, seems like a perfect family. But appearances are deceiving Her husband, who loves her, hides an alcoholism problem and she did not know what its true severity was.
The film shows how addiction impacts the family’s relational health. As loved ones, they care about our problems, and how family ties can help heal us or otherwise make the situation worse.
11. Nymphomaniac (2013), by Lars von Trier
Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is a nymphomaniac, that is, addicted to sex. Your sexual behavior is compulsive and is present in every moment of your life.
Although sex addiction is not included in the DSM, it is considered a serious behavioral problem, since it involves taking risks, such as contracting an STD or risking meeting strangers, in addition to constantly having sex, while Like other behavioral problems, it can mean not giving adequate time to other daily actions.
12. Rounders (1998), by John Dahl
Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) has a serious gambling problem So serious that he has lost all of his money betting against a Russian mobster. Her worried girlfriend asks him to stop playing, and he promises that she will leave him. But a friend of his needs money and, far from keeping his promise, Mike decides that he will risk everything to earn enough money to get him out of trouble.
This film is ideal for understanding how dangerous gambling addictions are, something that in recent years the media, especially television, has underestimated the consequences of pathological gambling.
13. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), by Martin Scorsese
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo diCaprio) is a clear example that you can have more than one addiction (It usually does, in fact). He wants money so he can pay for his drugs and have all the sex he wants. The life of this character, which is based on a real businessman, reaches the top of the business world and then sees how everything falls apart due to the shady nature of his business.
Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) has a serious alcohol problem So serious that she, going drunk to her sister’s wedding and ruining it, decides to take the wedding limousine after her and, to no one’s surprise, she crashes it into a family house.
Before putting her in jail, she manages to be admitted to a rehabilitation center to treat her problem, although she considers it unnecessary, only for people lost in life.
There he will meet addicts to other substances, become aware of their problems and see how cruel these types of problems are, especially with a girl he meets there and who almost becomes his sister.
It is a very inspiring film, in which it becomes understandable the great effort that those who have just left rehabilitation must put on their part. Returning to the environment in which the addiction was acquired runs the risk of relapsing again.
15. Thank you for sharing (2012), by Stuart Blumberg
In this film They talk, above all, about sex addiction Three people, who see how their problem is sinking their lives, decide to sign up for a program to be able to get ahead.
Like typical programs of this type, this one consists of several steps that allow you to reach the final goal: overcoming sex addiction. In addition to testing their will, along the way they will begin to maintain a strong friendship.
16. Spun (2002), by Jonas Åkerlund
Ross is a hotel meth manufacturer, marketing it to young people. In the film you can see how this drug is produced, describing the process as if we were experiencing the symptoms of the consumption of this narcotic Everything happens very quickly.
17. I, Cristina F. (1981), by Uli Edel
It is inspired by the true story of Christiane Vera Felscherinow, played in the film by Natja Brunckhorst. It is a very disturbing film.
The plot is based on Christiane’s autobiographical book, “The Children of the Zoo Station”, where she narrates her terrible addiction to heroin in the mid-1970s in Berlin.
At the age of 14, she began to prostitute herself to pay for her daily allowance. For a time she became one of the drug addicts in her area, while she saw how the cold embrace of death took away several of her friends, also addicts of hers.
18. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), by Terry Gilliam
Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) embark on a trip to Las Vegas, with a shipment of various drugs, including pills and mescaline.
In the film, its director, Terry Gilliam, managed to express a criticism of consumerist society, although with a certain comic tone.
19. Traffic (2000), by Steven Soderbergh
In the film, Michael Douglas plays a judge who has been appointed president of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In addition to dealing with addictions in the United States, he must do it with his daughter’s cocaine addiction
Meanwhile, on the border with Mexico, police officer Javier Rodríguez (Benicio del Toro) faces one of the largest drug cartels in the region.
The film shows, without mincing words, the world of drug trafficking in North America, presenting the drama of addiction knocking on the door of our house.
20. Blow (2001), by Ted Demme
Another film that deals with drug trafficking. George (Johnny Depp) and Mirtha Jung (Penelope Cruz) are a couple of drug lords who experience, throughout the film, a great boom accompanied by the inevitable fall.
The combination of money, glamour, hell and, of course, addiction, is something that is present throughout the entire film.
