Someone left a short comment on one of the websites that could easily qualify as an absolutely concise yet completely accurate review: "The best film about alcoholism." And that’s the absolute truth, because what makes this film the best is the complete realism of the protagonist’s transformation (Robert Więckiewicz’s incredible acting). That’s exactly how it happens. Today, you’re on top of the world: your performance earns a standing ovation, you’re invited for interviews in various places, your evening is bathed in golden light in the arms of a beautiful woman, brown liquid swirls in your glass, the house is warm, and outside, poetic snow falls. Gallows humor helps you put on a brave face, but tomorrow you’ll have to pay the bills—because you’re an alcoholic. An alcoholic who fights his addiction not to recover, but to prove who’s stronger. And when your opponent thinks they’ve won, when you’re lying there, choking on your own vomit or nearly drowning among clothes soaked in the bathtub, something or someone saves you. And the alcoholic merry-go-round begins again: resurrection—rehab—recovery—back to square one—full throttle with no brakes—another fight—the edge of life and death. How many times has this happened already? How many more times will it happen?
The director’s clever idea to edit the trailer in such a way that the viewer has no doubt they’re about to watch a comedy is brilliant. But in reality, it’s a heavy, profound drama that only the strong-willed can handle. Each character has their own story, and while the settings and some events in the lives of the addicted are similar (the use of the same locations in the film), the shattered lives are all unique. There’s no definitive answer to why everything happened this way. But there is an answer to the question family members of addicts often ask: "He promised he’d control himself. Can we trust him? Will he succeed?"
