(MA) Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush

Candy and Dan have just fallen in love and the universe seems to be as good as it gets -until they add heroin, and it seems better still.

Heath Ledger plays Dan, an occasional poet who descends into drugs as the path of least resistance. Candy's (Abbie Cornish) reasons for indulging are a little more complicated, and become more so when her empty wallet leads her into prostitution.

This familiar story about the ups and downs of addiction is made special by the Australian feel and great casting. Based on the novel by Luke Davies, the plot occasionally seems too condensed or simplified, but any doubts I had were dispelled by the end.

This is ultimately a story about taking responsibility: not only for yourself but also for the ones you love.

Lyndal Irons