The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This documentary is a very dark look into the world of young heroin addicts in the 90s. It shows these young peoples lives taking a downward spiral as their addictions take a hold of them. I personally have never been addicted to any drugs but I always find it interesting to see other people deep into drugs and the reasons behind it. You get a look into each characters lives when they are interviewed and hear the disturbing things they talk about growing up which has contributed to the state of their lives now. I got emotionally attached to the people in this documentary and you see how vulnerable they are. I found this documentary disturbing and also quite emotional especially with one girl and how her life hits rock bottom. It was sad seeing updates on some of these people and what happened to them but I know some of these people turned their lives around. I would recommend this if anyone is into these real life dark documentaries, I think it's very interesting to see what the life of a drug addict is like.

If anyone is wondering about updates for those who were filmed, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhDnVY0f08I am a documentary lover and while I do not do drugs myself. Docs about different drugs have always fascinated me and is probably a good reason of why I will never try them. I think Black Tar is a great documentary for teens to watch. I live in Montana and meth has been a huge problem for us. Many highschoolers are now doing meth at parties instead of smoking pot or drinking. They need to be educated about all drugs so that they make educated decisions about what they are willing to "try" that could and most likely will lead to addiction and/or death.

A friend of a friend is a user, so we managed to write a short but dense critique on this excellent documentary. We are both Generation Y (24-25), so it's like watching the lives of our imaginary junkie cousins.First of all, this documentary is true. Well, you're gonna say "aren't documentaries suppose to outline reality?". Yes, but this masterpiece manages to not become over-dramatic, and follow the lives of 5 very different personae.Second of all, the shocking nature of this work of art is not meant to create an atmosphere of "drugs are bad, okay?" but to portray how the misuse of such a powerful substance can lead to the destruction of many people's lives, when the information about the substance itself, its use and its pharmacology is purely street-wise due to the lack of the Internet.Today there are a lot of people who we can technically call "addicts", but they live perfectly normal lives because of the information given through the internet, even before start self-medicating with opiates.We live in a post-curt Cobain world, so when you watch this documentary, try to have in mind how these characters would be if they lived in the age of Web 2.0

The people in this documentary are the saddest, most pathetic group I've ever seen in my life. They shoot up, prostitute, then repeat. Unflinching, pretty hardcore. HBO makes really good documentaries, not trying to sugarcoat or alter society, they convey it to us with a style that is not added, but already there.