Harold Becker
Cocaine

Cocaine is a 1988 film directed by Harold Becker and starring the great James Woods. And I say great because we are talking about one of the greatest actors around, never too appreciated by the public and who never received what he truly deserved, partly due to his absence from numerous significant films. How can we forget James's performance in the last masterpiece by Sergio Leone, "Once Upon a Time in America," where he played Max, the friend of Noodles, portrayed by another excellent Bob De Niro (and it's hardly necessary to mention). Also present is the beautiful Sean Young, Woods’ wife both in reality and within the film. A little backstory, it seems the two also ended up in court over an accusation by James of stalking against his partner. The film in question can be seen as a denunciation of drugs and the drastic consequences it brings.

Lenny (James Woods) tries to make a name for himself in the world of work through buying and selling in New York, without earning profits. Desperate due to financial lack, he sees his life change after meeting an important businessman who proposes a move to Los Angeles with his wife and a secure job position. The couple's life changes radically, and they manage to forge important friendships and become wealthy. But when business goes bad, the couple begins to use cocaine, which profoundly disrupts their lives. It’s a continuous chase to find the possibility of detoxing, but things keep getting worse, leading to the woman’s miscarriage and rendering the protagonist completely enslaved and psychopathic, who will never fully recover. There are numerous intense scenes, between domestic violence and a man's attempt to self-destruct, trying to react to something bigger than himself. All this is overseen by an excellent Becker, the director of other significant films like ''The Onion Field'' or ''Sea of Love'' with Al Pacino.

There's no point in skirting around it; what makes the film great is the moving performance of James Woods, a man who, like few others, can step into the characters he plays and capable of conveying almost unique visual expressions. Credit also goes to Sean Young, exceptionally inspired. A beautiful film that, on the one hand, makes us reflect on a very delicate subject, like drugs, and on the other, makes us realize what an actor like James Woods could have given us.