In 1967 Henry Fonda starred in Welcome to Hard Times, a Western. He plays a mid-mannered man driven to violence to confront one evil bad man terrorizing the town he lives in. The movie wasn't a big hit. I remember watching it and being left with a feeling of dread, not boredom. Forward to 2020 and a tough well done movie. SHOOTING HEROIN left me with a feeling of frustration on the overwhelming opioid epidemic in America. Took a lot of guts to make this movie. There isn't a action hero involved in gratuitous violence overcoming some super-villain. SHOOTING HEROIN shows the viewer the feeling of hopelessness in small town, due to teenagers overdosing on heroin. One guy takes matters in to his own hands to rid the town of drug dealers. Skillfully acted by Adam Powell, he drew me into his world of loss and vendetta. The actor that delivers a memorable performance is Garry Pastore, as Officer Jerry. He's the one town cop that resists the urge to confront the drug dealers outside the constraints of the law. Pastore portrays a good friend trying to help a friend, to the frustrated town cop who has to confront townspeople bent on violence. Pastore won best supporting actor at the Hell's Kitchen NYC Film Festival. His last line in the move is something like, "Doing what I always do. Protect my town." No spoilers here, but I'd like to see Pastore in a followup movie to SHOOTING HEROIN. It's a great movie tackling a complex subject. I've watched it twice and will watch it again.
