Liquor Bank

Bluesky

For people struggling with addiction, success is often measured in terms of significant dates. They provide structure, something to aim for – but sometimes they can add to the pressure. When we meet Eddie (Antwone Barnes), he’s waking up after missing the planned AA celebration of his first year of sobriety. He’s still clothed, there’s an empty beer bottle beside him on the pillow, and it’s clear that he feels rough – but he knows a cure for that. It’s a shame about the side effects.

We’re only alone with Eddie for a little while – long enough to take in his mental state and the bareness of his home, which suggests either material or emotional poverty, especially in the context of the art high up on the walls which tells us that he is capable of engaging more with life, at least in better times. He’s been depressed for some time. With the blinds drawn, the space is flooded with amber-coloured light, neatly coordinated with the liquor he’s drinking when his sponsor arrives to check up on him.

This is Baker (Sean Alexander James), and most of the film plays out as a two-hander, with contextual references to Eddie’s mother, who is also worried. It’s based on a true story – it reflects a good many. We learn a little bit about Eddie’s history with drink and the risk he has presented to others as well as himself; we also get a glimpse of this when, on impulse, he does something drastic. The real focus, however, is on what the actors can show us. Both are good, Barnes making the effort to draw out something beyond simple despair whilst James has the more complex task of illustrating why Baker is prepared to put himself through what seems like a thankless process.

Naturally, in light of its subject matter, the film goes to some dark places. It’s good to see this story told from an African American perspective, not only because there’s too little of that but because it makes it clear straight away that Eddie faces real challenges in life, something that is lost when filmmakers opt to approach their work one ‘issue’ at a time and give us supposedly troubled characters who otherwise seem to have really easy lives. Eddie is right in recognising that staying sober won’t solve all his problems. The question is whether or not he’s willing to do it anyway, and stick with it, because he still values being fully alive.

At just 15 minutes in length, the film can only capture a moment in his struggle, but as any addict will tell you, it’s all about dealing with moments, one after another. It’s a solid piece of work from director Marcellus Cox, whose skill in creating atmosphere is well suited to the theme. It says what it has to say efficiently and leaves viewers to imagine what might come next.

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