Better Things Review

Bored youngsters turn to drugs in this bleak debut from artist Duane Hopkins. A Costwolds community is grieving a girl who died of an overdose. As her friends move from smoking to injecting heroin, there’s a fear that they will follow her to the grave. Meanwhile, an agoraphobic girl cares for her grandmother and an elderly couple have marital problems. There’s little hope here: few characters have the resources to escape their routine lives. The actors’ inexperience is often evident, but the poetic pace and art direction lend the drama a dreamy air. It’s a miserable film, really, but it might just get you thinking — and make you grateful for what you’ve got.