Into Dust: A Review

Into Dust is a short fiction drama centred around the issue and nuances of addiction and recovery. The film is a creation of Craig Meinhart, who wrote, directed, and edited the project. The cast features Jame Burleson as Gus, and Jo-Jo Steine as his sister, Alex. The film has received recognition, for its poignant take on the process of recovery from drug addiction and abuse in such a short amount of time (10 mins).

The film’s strength comes in its writing. Anyone who is reading this will have some ties to addiction, either through personal experience or through relationships with others who face such challenges. Based on figures from the americanaddictioncentres.org, almost 38% of adults in 2017 battled an illicit drug use disorder, with heroine use among young adults doubling within the past decade in the US. Craig Meinhart’s script speaks to the millions of users and abusers of drugs and alcohol, specifically to those who have had the experience of recovery and relapse. A line that hits home with many in recovery is told by the protagonist of the film, Gus. Gus is suffering from a relapse episode and he’s requested to meet with his sister Alex. Once she arrives at the park, Gus starts to tell her about what led to his relapse: “Getting clean was the hardest thing ever, but staying clean was worse.”

For those unfamiliar with the process of addiction and recovery, this line is an opening to a world that millions struggle with on a daily basis in such a process. Many think that if addicts just break free from drugs, their problems in all their extremities are over. Many addicts in the beginning even think in that way, experiencing what is called “The Pink Cloud”, when clarity from drugs and new-found faith in a higher greater than one’s self starts to take over their once bewildered and deminished souls. But of course, the pink cloud fades, and living sober becomes more difficult than it was to get clean in the first place. Getting clean has a window, it’s mostly scientific—chemicals out of the body. Getting clear and living sober, well, that’s a lifetime’s worth of work—for living sober does not entail not doing drugs, it entails living on an emotional equilibrium that presents a sense of serenity to keep addicts and abusers from turning their backs on their recoveries and giving in to the dark and oft insane hole of relapse.

Meinhart’s film speaks to those who have experienced addiction, the journey of recovery, and relapse. James Burleson does a good job of portraying an anxious and subtle insanity in Gus’ character. The plot consists of two dark-spirited figures who Gus sees in his trip down drug lane. “They took away faith”, as he states. Faith is a pillar in the majority of recovery programs out there. For addicts need to believe in a higher power greater than themselves to restore them to sanity, and make their lives manageable. On their own, their lives had ended in the cul-de-sac of abuse and self-destruction. In this story, Gus’s first push into relapse was the disappearance of his faith. Once that pillar is gone, and addicts are left to their own devices, relapse becomes almost inevitable. Nightmares and odd dreams are another factor that play into the journey of a recovering addict or alchoholic. At times, such nightmares and dreams are so haunting and feel so real, that the line between reality and illusion becomes blurred as we see in Gus’ struggle. Paranoia will then kick in, and obsessive thoughts will begin to stir the mind, intrusive noises and visions being whisked along to help push those in recovery down the rabbit hole of relapse, all signs and symptoms presented in Gus’ character.

The character of Alex, Gus’s sister performed by Jo-Jo Steine plays well into this dark web of trauma. She has witnessed what Gus’s addiction has done to the family, and she has seen the pain it caused her brother. She is helpless in many ways family members of addicts are during using episodes. The constant barrage of apologies, paranoia, the constant re-telling of memories in detail from the past, love and death, these are mere examples of behavioural variations and circumstances that play into the nuances of relationships and discussions between users and their family members, and Alex’s helplessness is a perfect example of the weak position family members often find themselves in during such episodes. And at the end, Meinhart thrusts the knife into the flesh of the disease of addiction, revealing itself for what it feeds on, new prey. No spoilers here.

Overall, Meinhart’s script is a powerful take on addiction, recovery, and relapse. The directorial approach compliments the atmospheric scope of the trauma well. The film is approximately 10 minutes long, but will have you considering its themes and concerns for some time after the final credits.