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The Panic in Needle Park (1971)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
The perils of drug abuse are well documented in the movies, but The Panic in Needle Park goes further than most in exposing the psyche of the addict. Bobby (Al Pacino), a petty crook and addict, meets up with Helen (Kitty Winn) pretty much by accident when he's selling to her boyfriend, wayward artist Marco (Raul Julia). It's hardly an auspicious meeting though since she's curled up on the couch in agony, after a botched, backstreet abortion. Bobby later visits her in hospital, partly because he really seems to like her and partly because Marco has skipped town. The attraction is mutual (Bobby's very charismatic and pretty wild) and Helen moves into his flat, in Needle Park. This is something of an introduction to a whole new world since, although Helen has seen drug use, Bobby inhabits a neighbourhood of serious abusers. He's a real on-the-streets guy, always hustling for some "bread" and friends with everyone he meets. Helen, to her credit, stays clean though and just hangs around to be with Bobby.

Life is good at first, with Bobby's bright and sparky attitude lifting Helen out of her naturally melancholic state. Various drug-related friends drift by, together with Bobby's brother Hank (Richard Bright), who dresses like a banker and burgles apartments, and casual narc Hotchner (Alan Vint). However, a storm is approaching with the rising "Panic" -- a situation where drugs become scarce on the streets and their price escalates. In a desperate bid to remain high the various abusers shoot as much as they can handle and anything they can get their hands on (including glue, shoe-polish etc). Bobby isn't immune from this fever and he starts spending greater amounts of time in a smack haze, oblivious to the needs (especially sexual) of Helen. Inevitably Helen gets bored with this inattention and, secretly, shoots up herself, to see what its like. The next time he's clean Bobby can see that she's embarked on this path to self-destruction, but it doesn't matter; soon enough Bobby overdoses and almost doesn't make it. Luckily for him he gets arrested, when he's helping Hank on a job, and gets to go cold turkey in jail.

On the outside, Helen slips even further along her inexorable path towards oblivion. Unable to function normally she turns to the World's oldest profession, even allowing herself to be "balled" by Hank in her quest for the next fix. Bobby isn't too pleased with this state of affairs when he makes his way back into society, especially the bit about his brother. He's such a loser, at heart, that it doesn't seem likely that he could support them, and their habit, but he does get the chance to become a big-time supplier. Success, in the limited terms of this environment, seems a possibility but, as normal, the deal falls apart. In addition to whoring (from which Bobby takes most of the cash) Helen also manages to convince a doctor to give her some pills, a few of which she takes before selling the rest. However, Hotchner manages to catch her trying to push these onto children and offers her a deal, in exchange for her freedom. If she rats upon someone else, like Bobby, then she'll be let off. As Hotchner mentions, "Everyone in this situation will rat on someone else, always." - but is Helen like that?

Set rigidly in the early Seventies, which both dates the movie and provides a certain period charm, The Panic in Needle Park is a very graphic and somewhat depressing journey. The mechanics of shooting-up and the orgasmic after-effects are examined in close detail, with shots of injecting which are almost physically painful. Beyond this shock value, the story is more concerned with characters and the ease with which people (such as Helen) sink into this morass of self-absorption. The acting is mostly excellent (especially a young Pacino) and the incredible selfishness of drug-users is always obvious (which is why they'll always rat on so-called friends). It's also clear why these degenerates are called users - apart from drugs, they use their bodies, their associates, the cops, sympathetic doctors and everything else in their desire to get high. While it's difficult to feel sorry for these wasters, given the chances for recovery that they could take, comprehension of their plight is simple to grasp.

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