Urban Nightmare Romance

Panic in Needle Park is a film that captures the essence of 70s US cinema outside of the big blockbusters of the period. It is gritty and depressing, but compelling to watch due to the great script, off-key pacing and innovative camera work.

It is essentially a destructive love story, as the innocent Helen (Kitty Winn) falls for cheeky junky Bobby (Al Pacino). Inevitably, Helen's curiosity gets the better of her and soon the couple are on a downward spiral; stealing and prostituting to fund their relentless habits.

The performances in the film are naturalistic and powerful, and the camerawork borrows from films like Bonnie and Clyde to great effect. Silent screams, disjunction between sound and image at crucial moments and vast temporal jumps work with the bleak realist aesthetic to great effect.

Any film in which the characters have no overriding goal can be difficult and frustrating to watch. However, if you're mentally prepared for the ever-bleak experience of watching a film about drug addiction then there is much to be appreciated in this gritty 70s drama.