Movies Featuring Alcoholism
Clean and Sober (1988)
A real-estate salesman, Michael Keaton, whose addiction to drugs and alcohol is destroying his life, reluctantly enters a detoxification program and turns his life around with the help of a no-nonsense counselor (Morgan Freeman) who has heard all of the excuses and a woman trying to find her own self-esteem (Kathy Baker) 124 min.
Crazy Heart (2009)
Directed by Scott Cooper. Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall. The powerful story of a country music star's rocky road to redemption. Bad Blake is a boozy, broken-down singer who reaches for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the music. But will Bad's hard-livin' ways and crazy heart cost him his last chance at a comeback? 111 min.
Drunks (1995)
Directed by Peter Cohn. Cast: Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Spalding Gray, Amanda Plummer, Diane Wiest. Story of a small group of recovering alcoholics who meet in a Times Square church basement for an AA meeting. Collectively they share their hopes, fears triumphs and frailties -- keeping their faith even as a dramatic upheaval threatens the life of a man they all admire. 88 min.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Directed by Mike Figgis. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands. Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter whom lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera. 112 min
Sophie (2002)
Directed by Helen Haeyoung Lee. Cast: Monique Dami Lee, Elizabeth Lee, John Shin, Satya Lee, Charlie S. Lee. A somber, disquieting portrait of a Korean American family trapped in the miserable grasp of an abusive, alcoholic patriarch, told from the point of view of Sophie, a girl in the family. 29 min.
28 Days (2000)
Directed by Betty Thomas. Cast: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi. A high-flying party girl gets herself a DUI and 28 days in rehab -- and ends up discovering that real happiness must come from within. 104 min.
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
Directed by Luis Mandoki. Cast: Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Lauren Tom, Ellen Burstyn. Alice and Michael are a passionate couple whose once-stable marriage is rocked by her increasing dependence on alcohol. As they strive to overcome this challenge, they discover a renewed sense of love and commitment. 126 min.
Smashed (2012)
Director: James Ponsoldt. Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Nick Offerman. A married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of alcohol gets their relationship put to the test when the wife decides to get sober.
Flight (2012)
Director: Robert Zemeckis. Cast: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle.Whip Whitaker is a commuter airline pilot. While on a flight from Orlando to Atlanta something goes wrong and the plane starts to fly erratically. With little choice Whip crashes the plane and saves almost all on board. When he wakes up in the hospital, his friend from the airline union introduces him to a lawyer who tells him there's a chance he could face criminal charges because his blood test reveals that he is intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine. He denies being impaired, so while an investigation is underway, he is told to keep his act together. However, letting go of his addiction is not as easy as it seems...
Candy (2006)
Director: Neil Armfield. Cast: Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush
This story is a narration from an Australian man who falls in love with two kinds of Candy: a woman of the same name and heroin. The narrator changes from a smart-aleck to someone trying to find a vein to inject, while Candy changes from an actress, call girl, streetwalker, and then a madwoman. Starting in Sydney, the two eventually end up in Melbourne to go clean, but they fail. This leads them to turn to finding money and heroin, while other posessions and attachments become unimportant.