Her Smell

Life can be a shit hole, unless you know how to turn things around and make something good out of it. No matter what problems you have, there is always a chance to try a different path. In my youth, i witnessed some close friends become very injured by drugs. Especially two brothers, who i grew up with from an early age. One of the brothers overdosed, and luckily survived but was brain damaged. He is basically a completely different person today, not the happy guy i grew up with. His other brother overdosed and died, found by his own mother in his appartment. The biggest tragedy of all is that the drugs destroyed this family completely. I still have images in my head, going down to the hospital seeing one of the brothers lying in bed from an overdose, and i will never forget what i saw. Drugs can fuck you up completely, so i never felt the need to do them ( never tried any big drugs, except for Marijuana ). Alcohol i can handle, so im no addict in any way. When it comes to films that brings up addiction, i am always reminded by the independent drama film Sherrybaby, with actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Released in 2006 from director Laurie Collyer, this film tells the story of former heroin addict Sherry Swanson, who was recently released from prison. She is about to start a new life, hoping to find a job and get connected with her daughter. This film is both really tragic, and realistic, how hard it is to be addicted to drugs and alcohol, and Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a really powerful performance. Her character Sherry is never getting out of addiction, you can sense that from the beggining, unless she really finds a way out. A must see on DVD or Blu Ray, if you want to see a very tragic portrait about addiction. I recently heard some reviews on a new independent film known as Her Smell, a film that clearly tells a story of how addiction can affect your entire life.

Punk band Something She, with members Becky Something ( Elisabeth Moss ), Marielle Hell ( Agyness Deyn ) and Ali Van Der Wolf ( Gayle Rankin ), have made a big impact with their raw sound, and honest lyrics. But things are out of control with front singer Becky. She can´t take care of her baby daughter, she can´t record new songs in the studio for a new album, and her life is on the way to become even worse with her alcohol and drug addiction. Will Becky ever get out of this misery, or is her time running out for good ?

It has been a while i have seen a film that hit you right in the face, with a very realistic and brutal reality of addiction. And this is exactly what the film Her Smell does, and i am not afraid to say that this is one of the best films i have seen so far this year. The acting in this film is so damn good, it is hard to describe. You have to see for yourself to understand. Lead actress Elisabeth Moss as the drug addicted singer Becky is absolutely phenomenal. I have never seen her do such a fantastic performance as she does here, and she deserves to be nominated at every film festival for her astonishing performance. Becky is exactly the proof of how bad things can become in the music industry, if you have access to drugs and alcohol and still perform on stage with no control. Especially the tragic scene where she drops her baby daughter, being too drunk and high on drugs. But there are more performances we need to talk about from the cast. Legendary actor Eric Stoltz ( who i have seen in many films, especially remembering his magical performance in the 1985 film Mask ) does a really good performance as manager Howard. You can tell his character is frustrated, for each chance he gives Becky. Legendary actress Virginia Madsen ( still looking gorgeous as Always, from classics such as Sideways ) gives a powerful performance as Ania, mother of Becky, You can tell she feels hurt by her daughter´s addiction, and Virginia shows this clear with her facial expressions. Actress Agyness Deyn as basist Marielle is one of the characters i feel is very interesting. Her angry scenes, when she is so frustrated over Becky´s bad behavior, will make you affected. Her Smell is not only about addiction, but this film really shows you how bad a person can become being addicted to drugs and alcohol in an honest way. The storyline is effective, with some really good looking cinematography from Sean Price Williams. Director Alex Ross Perry, i salute you sir for giving us such an amazing film such as Her Smell. We need a very honest and realistic film about addiction, and Alex manage to give us exactly what we need to see. A powerful and honest film about real life, where the end of the rainbow is not always shining bright. Support this independent film, buy a DVD or Blu Ray. This is one of the best films of 2019, so far.

Rating: DDDD