Movie Review: ‘Shooting Heroin’ – Blurred Lines Between justice and Revenge.

It seems the world over there seems to be a pending danger when it comes to substance abuse, particularly for opioids and off-the-counter pain management drugs. Granted, a lot is being done to try to curb this and it is only right that filmmakers too add their voice to this.

Writer and director Spencer Folmar’s latest feature film ‘Shooting Heroin‘ attempts to address this canker with a well-nuanced and emotional narrative. It tells the story of a small town and how some of its occupants dare to tackle the issues of an opioid crisis they are facing.

Set in the fictional small town of Whispering Pines, the film follows Adam (played by Alan Powell), a war veteran and single father who has grown weary of the drug-related deaths plaguing his community. While many townspeople remain passive, drowning their grief in alcohol and empty conversations, Adam is forced into action when his sister dies from an overdose. Fueled by rage and grief, he joins forces with two like-minded individuals to take the town’s drug problem into their own hands, with the reluctant blessing of the town’s sheriff.

By looking at its bare bones ‘Shooting Heroin‘ presents the premise for what could be a gripping thriller or a vigilante story. However, a closer look at the narrative presents themes of clash between religious fate and morality.

Adam is doing his best to cope with his issues and doesn’t seem disturbed by the rise in criminal activities and deaths in his town as a result of the opioid crisis. Until the death of someone close to him. You are forced to question his motivations. When is the right time for us all to rise against what is wrong? Especially when we know it is wrong. And how far can one go when standing against what’s wrong?

The approach that Adam and the others take to help save their community blurs the lines between justice and revenge. Are they adding to the violence or are they making a difference? The narrative subtly addresses this but doesn’t fully sink its teeth into this making it feel like a very big missed opportunity for the film to be much better. The idea is introduced when it starts to talk about faith and togetherness in the community being one of the best ways to counter the crises as opposed to ordinary people taking justice into their own hands and trying to do things.

Performance-wise, the film doesn’t offer much to elevate the narrative.  Alan Powell delivers a competent but unremarkable lead performance, weighed down by a script that limits his emotional range. Although it is very obvious that the character he plays is motivated by pain and loss, you almost cannot see that in his eyes. The supporting actors also don’t bring much to the narrative as well. Sherilyn Fenn and Cathy Moriarty provide glimpses of sincerity, but their characters remain underdeveloped. Nicholas Turturro who is the most recognizable name for me in the cast appears in a small part as a Reverend minister. But besides his character having very limited screen time it feels as though his talents were underused in this film.

Also, ‘Shooting Heroin‘ seems to lack a bit in its overall production quality. Granted, it is an indie and not a big studio project. However, there are still several technical areas that could have been better executed to add to the quality of this film. The cinematography captures the bleakness of the town effectively, however, some aspects of the art direction seem to not compliment this. Also, the editing choices seem to have several parts of the narrative seeming disjointed, especially in parts of the narrative where you would expect the tension to be consistent.

‘Shooting Heroin‘ however, has its heart in the right place. It wants to shed light on a real and pressing issue. It wants to say something important but it struggles to make it clear enough. With a much tighter narrative, well-rounded plot points and perhaps stronger performances, it would have delivered a powerful social commentary.

I will score this film 5.5/10.It is a film that is well-intentioned but ultimately lost in its own confusion, making it less impactful than it was supposed to be.