‘Do that mound of cocaine. Have a drink. Have 20 drinks…’
Drinking culture is a weird thing. It’s something that has been a part of my life for so long that I never really stop to consider it. Working in a pub for so many years gave me a penchant for Tom Waits and Hunter S. Thompson, for Hemingway and Bukowski, for Guinness memorabilia and real ale. But, I suppose it is a fine line between appreciating something that’s been around for thousands of years and using it as a crutch. 28 Days explores these issues and does so mostly successfully…
Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a hot mess. Not a fun hot mess either. A ruin your sister’s wedding kind of hot mess. Following a DUI conviction, Gwen is staring down 28 days in a court-ordered rehab facility. Once there she meets a troubled teenage heroin addict (Azura Skye), a fading actor (Viggo Mortensen) and a world-weary counsellor (Steve Buscemi). Rooting for Gwen on the outside is her beleaguered sister Lily (Elizabeth Perkins) and her enabler boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West).
Director Betty Thomas, working from Susannah Grant’s smart screenplay, makes two films here. One of them is a great drama about trauma and addiction and recovery. The other is a middling to poor comedy that is borderline offensive. Had she committed to the former and bombed out the latter we would be looking at an all-time classic. As it is, 28 Days has to settle for being merely very good.
Bullock is such a dependable actor, and she is utterly brilliant here, perfectly capturing the chaotic logic of the alcoholic. A supporting cast made up of the aforementioned plus Alan Tudyk and Mike O’Malley helps to flesh out the rehab facility and add texture and shade to what could easily have become a forgettable Sandra Bullock vehicle. It helps that the soundtrack is great, assisted by Louden Wainwright popping up from time to time to provide a pretty little ditty.
28 Days is a very watchable film that (mostly) approaches alcoholism with tact and empathy. One of the better mainstream films about drinking culture.