Pure (2005)

Mel (Molly Parker) is a mess after the death of her husband. She's a junkie being taken care of by her 10-year-old son Paul. Family friend Vicki (Marsha Thomason) dies in an overdose. Paul is forced to confront that his mother could die from drugs. Her friend Lenny (David Wenham) feeds her the drugs. Paul befriends waitress Louise (Keira Knightley). Mel decides to quit Heroin cold-turkey with Paul helping out but Lenny stop it. Paul's grandparents tries to get him away from his mom.The kid is wonderful in this. Of course, he's given a really juicy role. Molly Parker does a great job as a junkie in a British accent no less. The story is filled with humanity and it flows through the kid. Knightley has a co-starring role as a junkie grifter waitress. It's interesting to see her character presented at first as a savior for the kid.

This film examines the pain of drug addiction through the eyes of youth. Molly Parker plays the young mum who can't get off "the gear" and the film is seen through the eyes of her young son who loves his mum but hates what the drugs do to her. The film is OK but not great. The performers all do well with what the script gives them but the film seems to lack something - it almost seems the film is script by numbers. All the usual drug clichés come out - the cold turkey scene, the evil dealer (played by David Wenham) and the death by overdose of one the characters. I don't know why the travails of drug addiction seems to interest film makers repeatedly - it certainly contains enough misery and human suffering which can make for fine drama - the problem with Pure, despite its confronting subject matter, the characters seemed poorly fleshed out. To this middle class art house viewer the film contrasted poorly with other films set in a similar depressing circumstances - eg the stunning Nil by Mouth.On the plus side, the actors all do well - David Wenham has that man ever done a dud performance?

"Pure" is a story about disintegrated families, victims of the drug addiction. Mel (Molly Parker), after the death of her husband, becomes a junkie, and leaves the fate of her family into the hands of Lenny (David Wenham), Upton Park's local pimp and drug dealer. Paul (Harry Eden), Mel's ten year old son, is the main hero who tries his best to ensure the safety of his younger brother, and the health of the helpless parent. In spite of Paul's efforts to stop mom's dependence on heroin, Mel does little to keep her family together. Only at the sight of her stoned child she decides to give up, and predictably succeeds.Gilles MacKinnon ("Regeneration") creates a film in which the moods of the character are expressed elegantly in the use of intense colours being juxtaposed to blurred ones; drama and passion are juxtaposed to comedy and joy – all creating a mixed psychological tableau, in which the parents need to be taken cared of, and the children excel in their moral superiority. Alison Hume's script, based on a detailed research of drug-addicted mothers in Leeds, tries to combine the independence of the capital with the community spirit present within West Ham's supporters, in order to achieve the dramatic impact expected from films that tackle similar themes.The effect is far from expected. Although Harry Eden tries his best to impress in his struggle between understanding of and love for his mother, there is still quite a bit to go to challenge Haley Joel Osment. Arguably most characters tend to seclude too easily into stereotypes, and remain shadowed by the overall picture. The only decent cast is Molly Parker ("Kissed", "Men with Brooms"), who manages a most memorable performance, particularly when she ends up admitting: "I know I am a s**t mother. I never say it, but I always think that. I love you". At the end of the day she proves that "a junkie mom is better than no mom"."Pure" is a film that would appeal mainly to the families with similar experiences, but may be of little interest to the general public. The one touching thing is the soothing soundtrack, which tends to give an optimistic feeling to the story in the lively piano tune. Otherwise, the film is too pure to be disembodied, though many might disagree. After all the Berlin International Film Festival Jury had to have a few good reasons to honour it with two Manfred Salzgeber Awards.

Molly Parker is indeed convincing as the addict mother but the person who brings this film off is the boy who plays her son -- so it behooves us to get his name right. Harry Eden makes a brilliant debut in this difficult role. He is onscreen in almost every scene, with far more screen time than either Parker or David Wenham who plays the mother's supplier. His daily trials are grim but his ultimate resolution of them is cathartic.