American World Pictures

INTOXICATING

Genre: Thriller
Director: Mark David
Producer: Kirk Harris, Mark David, Jack Rubio, Tony Hewett
Cast: Eric Roberts, John Savage and Kirk Harris

Dorian Shanley (Kirk Harris, Hard Luck, My Sweet Killer) is a young, charismatic heart surgeon with a dark side... he has an insatiable appetite for booze, drugs, and one-night stands. Though brilliant in the operating room, he violates the eithics of his profession by stealing pharmaceuticals with which he barters for cocaine from his friend and dealer, Teddy (Eric Roberts).

Further fueling his downward spiral is the ongoing loss of his father, William (John Savage), a former prizefighter, to Alzheimer's. Once he falls in love with his girlfriend's grieving college pal, Anna (Denmark's Camila Overbye Roos), his life only becomes more chaotic. As he travels through a maze of binges into the heart of addiction, Dorian ultimately recognizes that his survival depends on making some radical new life choices before it's too late.

Soundtrack featuring songs from Cypress Hill, Mopreme, Shakur, Coolio, and MC Eiht.

* * * * (Four stars) "A haunted driven character Harris was seemingly born to play." - Merle Bertrand, Film Threat Magazine

"A spiral of drug addiction and alcoholism. I like the lack of sentimentality. A different take on alcoholism than what is usually in the movies." - Henry Sheehan, National Public Radio

(president of the Los Angeles Theatre Critics Association)

"An intense psychological study of the self destructive nature of addiction." - Joseph Haraszti, CNN Corespondent

"A surgeon in a spiral of addiction. Harris is affecting. Roberts is impressively low-key in a supporting role. Director Mark David squeezes a lot of visual bang out of his limited budget."
- Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

"Kirk Harris is talented." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

"The tagline of the film seems to be 'Get Separated From Your Senses' culled from one of the scenes, although, when some of the characters do precisely that, they vomit, pass out, sleep with the wrong person, or get beat up. Maybe it all comes down to this, every time you get high you gotta come down, with or without a parachute. The story itself is only bleak to a point. There is a silver lining, a tenuous thread of hope, a patch of blue in a cloudy sky."
- Bondo Wyszpolski, Easy Reader

"A crowd pleaser." - LA Daily News

"Essentially a character study. An indictment of bourgeois consumerism. The moral of the movie may be: Stay off of Vista del Mar when Dorian is ripping along it in his classic Corvette, gulping pills as he goes. If we knew a character like Dorian, he would look much as he appears here, and actor-writer Harris deserves points for not prettying him up. And it's certainly true that there's been a long-standing link between substance abuse and the medical profession."
- Charles Britton, The Rave/Daily Breeze

"A tailspin of overwork, alcoholism, impulsive drug use and one-night stands - often all in the same night. Harris, who resembles a beefier more self assurred version of Friends television star Matthew Perry, has a devilish glint that serves the character's most villianous moments." - Craig Outhier, Orange County Register

"Explores the darkest side of human nature."
- Mike Hixon, The Beach Reporter

"Intoxicating follows in the drug addicted footsteps of
Requiem for a Dream." - Los Angeles City Beat

American World Pictures and Rogue Arts
in association with Jam Pictures present
a Tony Hewett production of a Mark David film
Kirk Harris   Eric Roberts   John Savage
INTOXICATING
Camila Overby Roos   Allan Rich   Joanne Baron
original score by Mark David & William Tabanou
edited by Mark David & Joyce Brand
executive producers Justin Kim   Stuart Matz   Tom Pelligrini
produced by Tony Hewett   Jack Rubio   Kirk Harris
screenplay by Kirk Harris
produced, photographed and directed by Mark David