Methadonia
September 2006 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

German scientists in search of a powerful, less-addictive painkiller developed methadone a few years before WWII. It became widely used in the US in the 1970s as treatment for heroin addiction, a practice that continues today. The idea is to replace heroin with a drug that's easier to kick, but some addicts have reported greater difficulty getting off methadone than heroin.

Somewhere between heroin addiction and recovery lies methadonia -- the state in which addicts on methadone maintenance live their day-to-day lives. Methadone treatment is intended to be indefinite; doses rise as an addict's immunity strengthens and fall as addicts attempt to get clean. Addicts have learned to mix their methadone with prescription drugs such as valium and xanax to intensify the high. In this environment, the government, which provides the methadone and other drugs, and the addicts, who spike it, become obstacles to recovery.

Methadonia is a wise, unsentimental movie that follows a handful of people as they struggle with their heroin addiction and the effects of methadone maintenance. All attend an outpatient therapy and support group run by a stern ex-addict whose tough love seems harsh at first but appropriate by the end of the movie. Intricate stories abound. Susie and Eddie are recovering addicts and expecting parents. George and Jeff share a room in a halfway house until Jeff falls asleep while smoking and burns them out. Steve, a gregarious addict who looks like he's beyond help at the beginning of the film, learns a simple lesson: Others can't help you until you want to help yourself. These people and others fight their addiction, their increasing age, their past, their mental problems, and the physical effects of their treatment with varying degrees of success. Becoming completely straight is a dream for most of them; simply functioning is more realistic.

Director Michel Negroponte presents these stories as they are; he doesn't embellish for greater drama or impact. The clear, matter-of-fact look of his film fits this approach well. Extras include a short primer on methadone and addiction along with updates on some of the people in the movie -- especially welcome given the arc of each person's life during filming.

Methadonia shows people fighting against psychological desires and physical urges that negatively affect every aspect of their lives. They struggle to do what comes without special effort to most of us. No matter what you think about drug addition and addicts, only the most hard-hearted will be able to watch this film and not feel for the people in it.

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