Paul Perrier's Cracked Not Broken

(www.crackednotbroken.com) is film making on the fly, a case of that compelling subject who comes along in a not to be missed opportunity.í‚   It begins, in fact, with Perrier in his car, on his way to an impromptu shoot with a woman named Lisa.

Lisa, as it turns out, is an old childhood friend of Paul's wife, both having been raised in a leafy, privileged Toronto neighbourhood. She's invited Paul to come and shoot her reality as a crack addicted sex trade worker, and while intrigued, he's not sure what to expect.í‚  í‚  í‚  

Through an intimate black and white portrait, Perrier plunges us right into a typical scene in Lisa's world; a seedy Bay street hotel.í‚   Lisaí¢â‚¬â„¢s dialogue comes with disarming frankness, and baffling lucidity.í‚   Here is a woman who is attractive, smart, articulate í¢â‚¬“ and completely unable to extricate herself from an all-consuming addiction to crack cocaine, which occasionally appears visually.í‚  í‚  

The few slow mo and shimmering effects that work in sparse contrast to the realistic tone of the film add to its intimate, personal feel. In black and white, some shots tend towards an intriguing abstraction that mimics Lisa's very story: so real, yet also so unreal.í‚   His voice appears only sparsely in Lisa's conversations with the camera, asking only simple questions to encourage her talking. It's a point of view that's uncritical, yet not unduly sympathetic í¢â‚¬“ as clear-eyed as Lisa herself seems to be about her state.í‚  

Shorter segments, taped in subsequent months, see Lisa in an improved state. The manic energy of earlier scenes has given way to a sad awareness of her plight.í‚   We finally hear her own reasons for inviting the camera into her life: a need to í¢â‚¬Å“talk about the 300lb elephant sitting in the living room,í¢â‚¬  she remarks.í‚   í¢â‚¬Å“Nothing good has ever come of my addiction,í¢â‚¬  Lisa continues, adding her hopes that her story will serve as a warning that drug addiction can reduce everyone to the same, tragic common denominator, regardless of their background.

Since releasing the film in 2005 to the indifference of Canadian broadcasters, Cracked Not Broken has been shown on television in the UK, Israel and the US, as well as before hundreds of high school students and their parents in the Toronto area.í‚   A segment was even featured on Oprah in May 2006, and the overall reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.í‚   Engaging, if ultimately frustrating, Lisa's forthright honesty connects and resonates with audiences all over.í‚  

Lisa herself has attended many of the film's screenings, and answered questions from viewers afterwards with the same frankness that appears in the film.í‚   At a screening for the Rendez Vous with Madness Film Festival in Toronto in November 2006, however, she was not present.í‚   Sadly, but not surprisingly perhaps, Perrier reports that she is back using, though still hopeful of someday making it out.í‚  

By Anya Wassenberg