A blunt documentary about the perils of methamphetamine addiction, Choose Life or Choose Meth defines crystal meth (aka ice or crank) and examines its effects on both the human body and society at large. The program suffers a bit from disorienting tonal shifts, but the basic message here is clear and strongly delivered. A narrator introduces each of the film's segments with a short lecture about healthful living—eating right, caring for the body, having a healthy sexual relationship, etc.—followed by a look at how a good life is quickly perverted by the introduction of crystal meth and its monstrous, personality-changing and physically destructive effects. Various experts discuss how the drug is manufactured using a horrifying distillation of amphetamines (derived from over-the-counter drugs) mixed with toxins commonly found in cabinets below the kitchen sink, while graphic photos illustrate the crimes that people commit in a meth-fueled mania. One of the stranger elements here is a panel discussion featuring prison inmates who chuckle over each other's horror stories from the lost days of meth madness (while their tales are indeed cautionary, the film might have been better served by separate interviews of the prisoners). All in all, however, Choose Life or Choose Meth may be startling enough to deflect some potential users from making the wrong choice. The $79 educational version also includes a two-part test and review, as well as lesson plans. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)
Choose Life or Choose Meth
(2007) 102 min. DVD: $39.95 ($79 w/PPR). Moonshadow Productions. Volume 23, Issue 6
Choose Life or Choose Meth
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