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By Jessica Duncanson
Director: Christopher Tew
Melanie first took heroin when she was 14 years old. Following the misery of watching her mother die, she approached her sexually abusive brother to acquire the drug. Her boyfriends have been violent and destructive and three of them are now dead. In Poison Flower, she is homeless and mourning the death of her most recent partner, Victor. She carries his ashes around with her for most of the film.
Latvian-born Gundega trained to be a policewoman and interned at a women’s prison in Latvia before being caught possessing drugs. While she maintains that she was helping others and that she does not use drugs herself, she then fled to England. In Poison Flower we encounter her struggling with homelessness and alcohol abuse.
Gundega and Melanie live together in a camp 30-odd miles away from Harlow. To describe them as friends is complicated as they regularly shift between seeming like far less and far more than friends. Melanie’s tormented past has made her angry, violent and self-destructive. Gundega appears tender and loving but is regularly abused and rejected by Melanie.
This film gives its audience nowhere to hide. It completely overrides the romanticised portrayal of drug taking that is so often delivered in cinema. Rather than sex, drugs and rock “˜n’ roll, Poison Flower shows us needles, blood, and slumped over addicts. After being hospitalised, Melanie recounts that a health professional had commented in earshot that she “˜could have HIV’. Poison Flower is a heart-breaking piece but one that gives some incredibly necessary context to homelessness and drug addiction.
In terms of anger, the film’s highlight may be its ability to break the surface. At first glance, Melanie is violent, angry and even cruel. However, when we are able to explore her calmer personality, we are privy to some truly tender moments on her part. When the pair travel to Latvia, Melanie scatters Victor’s ashes at his favourite fishing spot and we are granted a true insight into her emotional core.
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