And the Oscar Goes To...

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard that Leonardo DiCaprio finally won a long awaited Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at Sunday's 88th Academy Awards.  Along with the rest of the Internet celebrating what seems like an award two decades overdue, it only seemed fair to dedicate this post to one of Leo's more powerful, yet lesser known films.

Scott Kalvert's The Basketball Diaries (1995) depicts DiCaprio as high school basketball star Jim
Carroll.  Based on the real Carroll's autobiography of the same name, The Basketball Diaries tells the story of Jim's fall from star player on an unbeatable team to heroine junkie living on the streets.

Jim, who attends a Catholic school in New York City, has the talent to make a career out of his sport after he graduates.  However, after Jim's best friend loses his battle with cancer, Jim spirals into depression that leads to drinking away the pain of such a loss.  Jim and his friends, including a boy named Mickey (played by Mark Wahlberg) simply view their coping as a way to have fun and also begin to dabble in drugs, eventually trying heroine.  Through the voice over narration, we see Jim's addiction growing stronger despite his claims that he could "stop anytime he wanted."

Via Tumblr

Eventually things spiral out of control; Jim stops going to school so he can get high and is kicked out of his home by a mother that refuses to support a junkie.  Life on the streets forces Jim to fend for himself by stealing, mugging, and even prostituting himself in order to avoid starving to death and allow him to feed his addiction.

The story takes a heart wrenching tole on the viewer, as Leo himself was only eighteen during the movie's filming.  Actually being as young as the character he is playing allows the audience to truly observe the loss of innocence that Jim's character experiences as he feeds his addiction through any means necessary.  In a heart breaking scene, we see Jim beg for his mother to forgive him, when in all actuality he only needs money to keep him out of trouble.


At this moment we remember just how young Jim actually is, and it seems both unfair and wrong that he allowed himself to be put in such a situation.  The movie sheds a light on the horrors of drug addiction, portrayed most effectively through DiCaprio's acting in which the authenticity brings such a powerful message to the screen.

Despite the lack of popularity that The Basketball Diaries earned versus many of DiCaprio's other films, in my opinion it is one of his most commendable performances because of the power behind it. As we see how pathetic Jim's actions become, we implore him to get clean so as to avoid the misery he keeps putting himself through.  DiCaprio's acting through these tough to watch scenes are what make the movie so effective, as it is obvious that he really is just a kid. This power leaves a lasting impression on the viewer, as it sheds light on the cruelties of the world, but also reminds us that there is always hope when the outlook is bleak.