Acts of Worship (2000)

It's f*ckin' right in your face

I saw this movie 5 years ago at the world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival. It blew me away, so good!! The movie is not for romantics, because it doesn't tell a happy story, not even a happy ending; but if you like films that make you think, and if you like good,natural acting, then this is your movie! April 1, 2006

Life Changing

I am going to a class for drug and alcohol abuse.
This film was shown, and it had the whole class quite.
Even the men in the class stayed and talked after the
film,which most the time is not the case. I remembered
the day my daughter and I talked on the phone, she
was out of her mind after a two day binge on x and I don't
know what esle. I am thankful, that was a day of change
for her life. I think this is a great film to share with
your teenage children, let them see the affects of drugs.
I felt as if I were living in the shoes of a young woman
addicted to drugs. Thank you for supporting independent
films, if there was an Oscar for Life Changing films
I am sure this would be a winner. January 13, 2006

So utterly convincing...

The storyline is the type of thing you find on a Lifetime Network Special or a straight-to-television movie trying to warn about the dangers of drug addiction, but this movie goes so far beyond that. It's not like it adds zany warped realities like Requiem for a Dream or it has some sort of narration keeping the audience completely informed that "this is what you should fear to be", it does everything so much simpler than that: It sits back and lets the actors eat the audience's collective heart out.

The drama in this film is SO UTTERLY CONVINCING. The performances get first prize for portrayals that, even when you want to try and find something wrong with it (I'm guessing this film might be considered too sentimental by some), keep the drama serious and prominent, not allowing the audience to let go of their suspension of disbelief. If it wasn't for the production quality, it would seem like this was a documentary and these were real people. And it's not just Ana and Michael, the two main characters, it's everyone, from the boyfriends to the crack addicts that have two seconds of screen time to everyone.

Secondly, the cinematography and editing are very well tuned to excellence. This movie definitely has the feel of an independent film, but more than that it doesn't have that "Look at me, I'm independent!" feel. Skewed angles and purposeful jump cuts exist stylistically in the film, but they come at the right times and are completely necessary, versus what tends to happen in a lot of independent cinema where the camera becomes relatively self-conscious and goes places it needn't. For example, the hand-held quality of this film is almost invisible, while some independent films tend to show off their independence via hand-held in a wannabe cinema-verite sort of conceit.

It's disappointing that I haven't heard anything about this film before. I literally picked it up because it was the first movie on the first row of the first aisle to rent because I wanted to surprise myself, and whadyaknow but it happened to be a real gem! I hope it builds a bigger audience because it deserves to be recognized.

--PolarisDiB December 14, 2005

Powerful

First of all, this isn't a big budget film. It's not striving for Oscars or any of the other Hollywood fodder. It's an honest film about one woman's hell of addiction. Secondly, if you are looking for a happy, feel good, life-is-so-wonderful movie, blow smoke up yer a** movie, look elsewhere.

Having said that....

This is a very powerful film. Afterwards I felt a lot of different things, but the most prevalent was thankfulness. You see, I came out of this life myself 10 years ago and believe it or not, I forgot just how fortunate I am to be alive and to have survived countless life threatening experiences. At the end I found myself, a grown man, crying like a baby because I was so moved personally and just by the film itself as a whole. As dark as the film was at times, there was many touches of compassion and glimpse of the human spirit just trying to survive and figure it all out.

I highly recommend this film if you want to watch something that will open your eyes to the world around you and have a greater understanding of what it's like to live in the abyss of drug addcition. Hopefully after watching the film you wll have a greater appreciation for life itself. October 12, 2005

Act of Brilliance

Simply stated, this movie is brilliant. Beautifully directed and acted, it is one of the few movies (out of hundreds I've seen) that made me cry. It is an emotional powerhouse film, graphically portraying the horrid drug addiction that terribly afflicts a young woman's life, and consequently those who care for her. "Acts of Worship" is honorable in it's truly honest depiction of life as an addict, it doesn't sugar-coat anything. It definitely is an important film to see if you, like me, have it pretty good for the most part but all too often forget to count your blessings, get caught up in petty upsets and lose perspective. Great movie. August 23, 2005

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