Blow

Based on the life of George Jung, Blow tells the story of how his father’s business failures but strength of heart combine with his mother’s obession with money and status first push Depp’s character to the top of the drug world and then off to it’s depths. An associate of Pablo Escobar, leader and visionary of the original Medellin cocaine cartel, Jung is so flush at first that the cash generated is literally bursting out of his house. But as one might expect, the greed of partners and Mr. Lawman’s relentless pursuit (Jung is busted five years after retiring from the business) take us to the necessary denouement. Depp is very strong in this character and Ray Liotta surprisingly good as his loving father but Penelope Cruz has little heft to her part other than making the picture pretty. Jordi Molla in his American film debut portrays Diego Delgado, who partners with Jung and then betrays him; Molla is fine in this part, as I never really trusted him. Ted Demme, who has previously made mostly documentaries, delivers the goods (so to speak) with strong, developed characters, good pacing, and visuals well-matched to the plot.

Update 5/3/01 Salon has a pretty good article on Depp and his emerging career. “Even more so than many of his peers, Depp has gone out of his way to work with bright, often idiosyncratic, directors, among them Burton, Roman Polanski, Jim Jarmusch and Terry Gilliam.”

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