Ultra-hunky Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a crack addict at death’s door in this adaptation of James Frey’s ‘memoir’
Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson preface their adaptation of James Frey’s mega-selling memoir about his addiction and recovery at 23 with a Mark Twain quote: “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” A little nod there to the controversy surrounding Frey’s admission that he fabricated chunks of his 2003 book. The Taylor-Johnsons, who married after making the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy together, co-wrote the script here, with Sam directing and Aaron giving a lightweight, sanitised performance as Frey. The result is disappointingly dull, the equivalent of buying sham weed. You wait for something to happen, but … nothing.
Related: Sam Taylor-Johnson: ‘I’ve lost people very dear to me through addiction’