¶ … Man on Fire" with two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington; and also starring Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, and Mickey Rourke, among others. The film was produced in 2004; it runs 1 hour and 50 minutes.
The drug of choice for the protagonist, former U.S. intelligence agent turned bodyguard Creasy, is alcohol. Creasy takes a swig of liquor from a flask while riding in a car, he pours Jack Daniels bourbon into a short glass in his bedroom and drinks from a glass, and after being asked what his flaws might be, he says, "I drink." He takes large swigs of straight liquor on numerous occasions but he is never seen doing other drugs like cocaine or marijuana.
The use of alcohol by the protagonist Creasy is seen as part of his every-day activities. He doesn't seem particularly pleasured by his consumption, but on the other hand there is nothing terribly negative about his imbibing because he doesn't get noticeably drunk more than once. In that one scene when he is drinking heavily and seems inebriated, he attempts to commit suicide but the gun fails to fire properly and once he realizes luck has kept him alive, he begins to curtail his heavy alcohol consumption.
FOUR: There are several
He is grumpy and edgy when he is drinking. He doesn't interact well with the young girl he has been hired to guard when he is drinking. She wants to be his friend but he is clipped, sharp-edged in his dialogue with her, and clearly the alcohol prevents him from being as sociable as he would like to be. He also appears to become depressed when he has had a lot of liquor, and a heavy does of alcohol on one particular night led him to attempt suicide, so the alcohol (which is a depressant) causes him to be depressed, or at least, it brings out more emotion from his ongoing depression. Later in the movie when he gives up alcohol, he is a charming, helpful, gracious person who interacts and converses politely and effectively with the girl he is paid to guard.
FIVE: The youthful reaction to the protagonist's heavy drinking would likely be negative; the reason for this is because the protagonist's expressions are dark, brooding and unhappy when he is consuming liquor straight from a flask or from a glass with no ice or mix.
SIX: In the text Drugs and Society (Hanson, et al., 2011), the authors quote several perspectives from individuals who drink to varying degrees or have had relatives or parents who drank a lot. The "second perspective" testimonial is interesting because the person's grandfather had died -- his liver was "shot from two much drinking" -- before his time but…
