Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Truly Dreadful Film

The acting in this movie is really good.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This is an emotionally charged film with superb acting as many of the other reviewers have indicated.It is also extremely well crafted; great sound, camera work and editing.This is fiction with a purpose beyond entertainment; it provides a glimpse into the world of drug addiction and the ripple effects that few know first hand but many denounce at arms length.Although it has noble intents, it is a bit manipulative in that it pulls out all the strings to make a viewer empathize with the main character's plight (if the main character wasn't a child, or if the addict didn't have any family I doubt the story would be as affective). And, perhaps the ending could have been cropped to leave open questions instead of forging a resolution.Nevertheless, it's a great film. And, definitely one worth watching.

The most important aspect of this film is how it focuses on a 10 year old boy and his problem with his heroin addicted mother; not on a mother dealing with a boy using drugs.Keira Knightley is the star power, but she's neither the sexiest nor the most slender; that goes to Molly Parker (Deadwood)and it's easy to see how she could attract men to enable her ongoing drug use. Her acting is as good as it gets but never falls into the trap of excess usually used to portray drug users. The portrayal of the boy Paul is also very real for being matter of fact rather than excess. The cinematography in a working class London neighborhood does not overdue the squalor but shows a pretty nice place to live ---- for those who haven't abandoned religion, patriotism, the work ethic, self-respect and other traditional English values.Widespread drug use, beginning with heroin, began with MY generation, those who were young adults in the Kennedy Era. Heroin spread like uncontrolled wildfire across America --- from the inner cities of New York, Chicago and LA (the only places where drugs were common in 1960) into every town in America. The #1 carrier of the disease were the college kids --- spoiled brats who embraced heroin with open arms and spread it directly or indirectly to their children. Hippies, with their aversion to soap, spread their false credo of Peace and Love --- if only the world was stoned we'd all love each other. Hippies are just so Yesterday, but their poison legacy lives on.Children dealing with stoner parents; that's the reality. Young people today have little idea how rotten things were in America in their parents' generation. Drugs and crime everywhere. When kids like Paul in this movie began to rebel against their corrupt and useless stoner parents; that's when things changed. How nice that this film gets it right.

"Pure" is a story about disintegrated families, victims of the drug addiction. Mel (Molly Parker), after the death of her husband, becomes a junkie, and leaves the fate of her family into the hands of Lenny (David Wenham), Upton Park's local pimp and drug dealer. Paul (Harry Eden), Mel's ten year old son, is the main hero who tries his best to ensure the safety of his younger brother, and the health of the helpless parent. In spite of Paul's efforts to stop mom's dependence on heroin, Mel does little to keep her family together. Only at the sight of her stoned child she decides to give up, and predictably succeeds.Gilles MacKinnon ("Regeneration") creates a film in which the moods of the character are expressed elegantly in the use of intense colours being juxtaposed to blurred ones; drama and passion are juxtaposed to comedy and joy – all creating a mixed psychological tableau, in which the parents need to be taken cared of, and the children excel in their moral superiority. Alison Hume's script, based on a detailed research of drug-addicted mothers in Leeds, tries to combine the independence of the capital with the community spirit present within West Ham's supporters, in order to achieve the dramatic impact expected from films that tackle similar themes.The effect is far from expected. Although Harry Eden tries his best to impress in his struggle between understanding of and love for his mother, there is still quite a bit to go to challenge Haley Joel Osment. Arguably most characters tend to seclude too easily into stereotypes, and remain shadowed by the overall picture. The only decent cast is Molly Parker ("Kissed", "Men with Brooms"), who manages a most memorable performance, particularly when she ends up admitting: "I know I am a s**t mother. I never say it, but I always think that. I love you". At the end of the day she proves that "a junkie mom is better than no mom"."Pure" is a film that would appeal mainly to the families with similar experiences, but may be of little interest to the general public. The one touching thing is the soothing soundtrack, which tends to give an optimistic feeling to the story in the lively piano tune. Otherwise, the film is too pure to be disembodied, though many might disagree. After all the Berlin International Film Festival Jury had to have a few good reasons to honour it with two Manfred Salzgeber Awards.

Just saw this on Sundance. loved it. beautiful acting, story, music, direction. Molly Parker is awesome once again. It was actually refreshing to see a movie where an addict actually beats her addiction. The scene where Mel (Molly Parker) sees her son (played wonderfully by Harry Eden) under the influence of heroine was especially touching.