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Dope (2004)
Check out this glowing review.....
Writer/Director J Harkness' labour-of-love since he began the script in 1994 (!), this almost 'DYI', Adelaide-shot drama was made for little cash yet never once looks cheap (kudos to since-late chief DOP Ron Hagen - the movie's dedicated to him). an ambitious plot line (that, at first, ingeniously seems to be about drug addiction - the original title was of course Dope - and then becomes a study of racism) revolves around a major and televised court case involving the police-bashing (and shooting) of an up-and-coming soccer player Trevor Lyons (Bruce Carter), and how it impacts on Laura (top-billed Anastasia Seis in a star making performance). she fears that old boyfriend (and now 'snitch') Jack (Travis McMahon) is involved, and as the Rodney King-like case continues she also commences a relationship with Russell (Nathan Dean Ramsay) - along the way finding love, discovering the meaning of her recurring dreams and setting into motion a surprise, scary and very satisfying last quarter. Proving the old adage about how it's better to see a good idea attempted than a dull one perfected, Harkness' vision here sometimes doesn't quite have the financial backing to bring it properly into focus - and yet Shot of Love still offers brave performances (by not-quite-unknowns all set to go places), fearless themes, considerable wit and some memorable eroticism. One of the best films made in SA in the last 10 years - with a bullet! Maddog