A Day in the Death of Donnie B. is a brilliant docudrama that follows a drug addict throughout his daily life interspersed with brief interviews with his family and friends. Donnie is a cool guy, a good looking black man, who has given his life over to heroin. Donnie is forced to steal to get his fixes, though his family acknowledges that heâs working hard for nothing better than to kill himself. The cinema-verite style employed, with bleak and beautiful shots of poverty and despair, is an arresting experience. The music, the African American culture, and the passionate, honest look at drug use and heroin behavior all make A Day in the Death of Donnie B. a phenomenal vintage video.
