Blow (2001)

Blow: Directed by Ted Demme. With Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths. The story of how George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.

“Based on a true story of how the American cocaine market was founded, this is a lot more funky than I had expected. A thumpingly good soundtrack right from the start and Johnny Depp cruising in to be a convincingly laid-back big-shot – almost like a graduate from Boogie Nights. Penelope Cruz manages to be blisteringly erotic in a few well-crafted scenes and without removing a stitch of clothing. Later, instead of following the usual pattern of despair in the second half where most drug movies home in on drug dependency, Blow refreshingly focuses on the emotional losses suffered by the characters. A film that just about manages to be more than the sum of its parts, it would have made a nice sort of pre-quel to Traffic, but it stands alone in fine form. And itu0026#39;s moving rather than depressing.”