WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW
First, the Recap:
Falling backwards. When the chips are down, we have hopefully found the means to make things right, or at least better. Arriving at that place of newfound freedom, it feels amazing and opens us up to realize the potential we have always had inside. But, even in these victories, with all the support we have ideally had (and still have), what comes about when we find ourselves back in the hole, having fallen off the wagon and headlong into all that brought us down in the first place?
Ex-Marine Eddie (Antwone Barnes) had it in control. Even with the turmoil of memories from his duty days and the means by which he chose to handle it once back home, things were looking up. On this particular morning, Eddie’s constantly buzzing cell phone greets him as he wakes, surrounded by all that he had left behind for almost a full year. Choosing to just keep feeding the monster of alcohol that grips him again, his caring sponsor Baker (Sean Alexander James) arrives at Eddie’s place to confront, comfort, and challenge a friend in need.
Next, my Mind:
Writer/director/producer Marcellus Cox is absolutely no stranger to the innate realities that life can throw at us, how to plumb the depths of what it truly is to struggle, accept, and overcome the odds, and just depict said journeys in a manner that is wholly relatable, compelling, and one hundred percent human, which is precisely what the filmmaker has accomplished once more through his newest 15-minute short film. Along with executive producer Adam Freed, Cox chooses a road commonly travelled via addressing the often harsh actuality of alcohol abuse, but delivers it with such a profoundly personal and unabashedly intense perspective that it resonates as it SHOULD with the intentionality and awareness-raising purpose the project elicits. It is yet another example of what this critic often calls a “necessary” film, as we should NEVER get tired of being reminded of issues that continually NEED to be cared about and certainly never dismissed.
As such, and albeit with a more abbreviated but no less immersively emphatic atmosphere as experienced with the director’s feature film version of “Mickey Hardaway” (reviewed here), the narrative, based on true events, that takes a deep and emotively exceptional dive into one young man’s fall from sobriety grace and the subsequent efforts by his sponsor to bring him back around benefits from this shorter format in that there’s simply no room for fussing around, frankly. In this case, that is a good thing, as the film so astutely draws you in, makes it credibly evident what the situation is, and then goes all-out in tackling the primary theme with vigor, keenly acute potency, and undeniable believability which cements the concepts in your head with the force of a hurricane while not leaving you feeling there’s no hope on the horizon amidst, pardon the term as this is NO joke intended, potentially drastic decisions and sobering truths it conveys.
What provides the film its punch IS the fact, without giving anything away here, that HOPE EXISTS even when things seem at their lowest, most desperate times, and HOW the narrative confronts ALL of its notions is just as persuasive and imperative for me. The third act of the film is a tour d’force of emotional upheaval, release, and resolution that WILL stay with you in both initial uncertainty of outcome and what occurs from that point. Thematically, the film takes its foundation and then expands on ideas spanning from tangents that illustrate apathy, denial, self-deprecating attitudes, justification/rationalization loss of will, and how we cope with things while in the grip of an addiction to our hesitancy to accept we’ve faltered then accompanied by the defeatist demeanor that arrives, casting aside the reality of our dilemma, pushing away those who are actually THERE for us, blaming others as opposed to our own responsibility, the specter of suicide, reminders WE ARE NOT ALONE, and having to acknowledge that when help IS present, WE still have to make the choice to TAKE it.
It is SO ardently important to understand just how much we need TO be there for those facing such dire addictions and help them find LIFE and LIBERATION. Barnes embodies the mindset of a man unhinged and on the edge while encountering his demons after having defeated them for almost a year with fiery but controlled energy and assertiveness through his role as Eddie, an ex-Marine whose more recent form of victory has just taken a stumble. Frantically believing that it’s just the way it will be and that there’s no way he will ever make it out, Eddie immediately fights back against the attempts by his AA Sponsor to check in on him and offer the MUCH needed hand and voice of support, friendship, and pointed concern he actually requires, but won’t accept. As the interaction comes to a head, whether Eddie CAN or WILL embrace what is being offered is in serious question, and watching Barnes take the character through this unrelenting storm of disquiet, doubt, and at first veiled determination to BE better again is fantastically engaging and undeniably affecting.
James brings about that genuine, highly apropos air of being a voice of conscious, hard truths, and utterly selfless dedication to see a young man come out of the hole he’s fallen into and once again find freedom from his ghosts and currently re-surging compulsions through his performance as Baker, Eddie’s AA Sponsor who comes calling when his “ward” doesn’t show up for a one-year sobriety party. With a calm yet conspicuously firm approach, Baker pleads and reasons with Eddie to acknowledge his faults, not seeing them as “the end of the world” but rather a fresh opportunity stand up and subdue them. As Eddie resists and resists, Baker remains steadfast, trying to make Eddie SEE how much he’s cared for. When things begin to spiral, there is an instance of action Baker takes that will define his efforts and impact on Eddie’s ensuing choices. It’s a beautifully understated but then briefly eruptive performance James provides here, and such a testament to character actors and their abilities to create such realistic and heartfelt moments that keep our attention.
So, in total, “Liquor Bank” deftly transports us into the arena of addiction with unapologetic dramatic grit and magnificently crafted heart, not willing to sacrifice the wrenching actuality what’s exhibited, yet also not remotely neglecting to entertain the ultimate message that the narrative exudes–even if we fall and we are made to take first steps we’ve done before, the beauty is that we can take them ANEW.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
