The film is about Bob Hughes (Dillon) and his small gang of drug addicts who roam town to town in early '70s U.S. Pacific Northwest, robbing drugstores in order to get their next fix. His followers are the wife Dianne (Lynch), and another couple, Rick (LeGros) and Nadine (Graham). The group is followed by a streetwise detective called Gentry, upon whom Bob takes morbid pleasure in embarrassing.
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The film explores the mindset of a drug user, with the rollercoaster of moods and impulses that accompany it.
Along the way the prospects of the group become increasingly bleak. A streak of bad luck in robberies fuels Bob's superstition and the breaking point is when the young Nadine dies of an overdose. Bob decides to leave his addiction and criminal activities behind, goes to rehab and gets a job in a factory.
Here, the great writer William S. Burroughs makes an appearance as a cautionary character. He provides a philosophically bleak outlook on the life of an addict.
Best part of story, including ending:
I liked the way the film doesn't demonize drug addiction and the people involved. These are not necessarily bad people, even while doing bad things.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was the one following Nadine's death, when we see impact it has on the main character and how he gradually comes to make a life changing decision.
Opinion about the main character:
In the beginning he's not much more than a charming thief. However, you can really see the way he grows and makes decisions as things are falling apart around him, and this is very rewarding for the viewer.
