Treading Water review – hard-hitting drug addiction drama is not for the faint-hearted
A Mancunian in supported housing uses heroin to manage his intrusive thoughts in this well-researched but horribly violent examination of mental health issuesGino Evans makes his feature debut with this painful and disturbing drama which has some unwatchably horrible and violent moments. It’s set in Manchester and tells the story of a heroin user fresh out of prison and struggling to sort himself out. That might sound like a pretty standard beginning for gritty British social-realism, but with maturity and what looks like solid research, Evans turns his film into an examination of mental health issues. It’s not for the faint-hearted though, with some scenes in which people hurt other people very realistically.Ex-Emmerdale actor Joe Gill plays Danny, who is released from prison into supported living after a short stretch for theft. Danny starts using again immediately, and he says in voiceover that he takes heroin to feel normal; it manages his OCD and intrusive thoughts (“I feel fucked up for even thinking them”). We are shown the intrusive thoughts that pop into his head: sitting opposite the manager of his supported housing, out of nowhere Danny pictures himself punching her repeatedly in the face. It’s brutal, and there are more scenes like this – realistic-looking and photographed with cold intensity by cinematographer Sam Cronin. I watched it clenched and tense – which is presumably the point, to show what it feels like to live like Danny, uncomfortably alert with adrenaline. Continue reading...
