Tattle

Winner of a Silver Apple Award at the National Film & Video Festival this timely ABC Afterschool Special examines the effects on four girls on a high school swimming team when two of the girls become addicted to cocaine. As the story opens the team has just qualified for the State Finals, but as the day for the meet comes closer, Colleen and Sandy become regular cocaine users; a move which threatens the strong friendship between the quartet and results in poor swimming from the users. After struggling with the question of "tattling," Maggie decides to talk to her coach. Sandy enters the drug rehabilitation program, while Colleen runs away. This is a psychologically convincing film which doesn't sermonize or offer any quick solutions. By moving the focus of the story away from the perils of drugs and concentrating instead on the destruction of friendship, the filmmakers have shown rather than simply told about one possible outcome of serious drug use. Ironically, although the film was an "afterschool special," it has been edited down for classroom use. Although it's still pretty good, we don't see why public libraries should pay an arm and a leg for an abridged version of anything. This is recommended for the audience it was intended for: high school libraries. (See FLIGHTS OF FANCY for availability.)