New York City, which is experiencing a 300–400% surge of crystal meth use, is the backdrop for this gritty, graphic, but ultimately inspiring and hopeful film infused with heart and compassion. This documentary takes us through lives of some 10-12 gay men in New York; some still using, some recovering, some long recovered and they are also in varying age groups. The documentary gives us an insight into the lives of these men, how they started using it, how they fought really hard to control the addiction, what are some the reasons for relapses etc. Finally, it also shows us how 12 step, one of the most popular programs help some of our men here.
New York serves as ground zero for Crystal City as we see how anxiety, depression, and addiction issues in feed into a "chemsex" phenomenon. Chemsex amounts to elevated self confidence (in part due to meth's contribution to a skinnier body) and a sense of ease in hooking up (abetted by dating apps) to the eventual orgasmic boost. Although we all know it, but some of the men talk about the fact that how they got into meth when they were really young and older men would buy drugs for them because they had money and these guys had youth, so it was exchange of services. Eventually, most guys used it for escapism, thinking they can control, only if that was so easy. a friend of mine is a recovering meth addict, so I know very well some of the stuff that happens behind the scenes and it was very relatable to me. Thankfully this documentary goes into a wide spectrum of men that it interviews, from dangerously dysfunctional to hearteningly flourishing.
This was a good informative documentary into the lives of those who struggle with addiction and their journey. I commend the men for having the courage to be transparent in sharing their stories, understanding that it may be help others as well as, standing in their own truth in their road to recovery and healing! (6/10)
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