Dope Sick Love is a really outstanding documentary made for HBO about two pairs of heroin addicted lovers roaming the streets of New York City.
But it is quite different from the conventional documentaries as there is no narration or interviews with the lovers, the camera just follows them around, completely detached, watching them score dope, shoot it, make up, hustle, and even impersonate cops to rob people!
The people being followed don’t even seem aware that they’re being filmed! The footage is amazingly candid, highlighting tiny details that careless documentary filmmakers would leave out.
This film shows the nitty-gritty of what it is like to be on the street and addicted to heroin. Some of the footage is truly horrifying; like watching one guy frantically searching for the fix he lost; and when he does find it, the guy literally dances in the street.
The recurring nature of drug addiction becomes very apparent while watching this, as addicts are shown to go through enormous amount of trouble just to get one score.
