Film

This look at the lives of homeless young heroin addicts living in the nooks and crannies of Union Square does much to dispel the notion of drug addiction as an affliction of the lazy or a sedentary pursuit. Featured unfortunates who look like they might have just stepped off the set of The Real Worlddescribe the harrowing rituals of their daily procurement. The camera follows them from panhandle and busk to score and shoot, revealing a lack of downtime that would rival the rigors of an I-banker. As each subject doses, the skilled piecework and personal aesthetic choices involved begin to resemble the habits of any workday. The total effect, of course, is abject sadness as we helplessly watch each enact a unique anti-success story in an inverted reality show.