Clean and Sober

(Glenn Gordon Caron, US 1988, 124 min., 35mm)

Michael Keaton. In perhaps his most intense performance, Michael Keaton plays a real estate salesman addicted to alcohol and cocaine. To escape trouble from the law for embezzling a large amount of his company’s money, he hides in a rehabilitation clinic. Cynical at first, he soon realizes that following the drug rehabilitation program might be the only way to save his life. After appearing in a series of successful comedies (Night Shift, Mr. Mom, Beetlejuice) Keaton deliberately chose this powerful, somber drama to avoid being stereotyped as only a comedian. Note later start time.