Sixteen years ago when "One Year in the Life of Crime" came out I remember being shocked that the movie industry would allow a film so gritty and real to come out. This is a true anti-drug film. If you haven't already used this will make you think twice (if you've got a brain). Having thirty years of heroin addiction behind me (in recovery now, but not then) "One Year" shows some of the heartache, loss, sadness & emptiness many addicts feel each day. The only time happiness is fleetingly felt is on the way home from the dealer and even that can be thwarted by the police. The film shows the daily lives of three main characters: Freddy, Rob and Mike and the people in their circle of life. Although Mike seems to be more of an alcoholic than a drug addict he is the only one I didn't feel a connection to. That has more to do with his beating his pregnant girlfriend and taking all her money for his own. His addiction is separate from him being a creep and a scumbag. I truly came to like Freddy and Rob and it was much easier to look past their imperfections and shortcomings than it was Mike's. Anyone looking for "real" TV should come here. You will come away much the wiser about addiction and what it does to a person each day. When Part 2 came out I was surprised both Freddy and Rob were still alive(Rob died July 5th,2002). The deterioration of their lives was immediately apparent. It saddened me but that is how "the life" is. See both.
