The overall plot interweaves each person's story (and several others) brilliantly, bringing in telling cultural references (video games, reality TV, trailer trash) to add both humour and reality to the tale. The performances are astonishingly strong--edgy and kinetic, open and fearless. Murphy is especially good in this sense; and it's terrific to see Rourke shine in a much larger role than we've seen him in lately (such as that camp drag queen cameo in Animal Factory). The script wisely avoids sermonising, sticking closely to the insider's perspective and just taking us along for the ride. It's cautionary without ever being preachy, which is no mean feat. It's also very, very funny as it lets us laugh at the absurdity of these people's deeply deluded lives. But the main star here is Akerlund, who infuses the film with visual flourishes that make it feel almost animated, from washed-out photography and machine-gun-fire editing to zany cutaways and extreme close-ups. He takes heavy inspiration from Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, especially in the drug-rush jolts, and as a result the film doesn't feel quite as original as it should be. But Aronofsky's film was mature and thoughtful; this is almost comically offhanded. And in some ways, it's actually more deeply affecting this way, because it seductively draws us in. Could this be me?