Though the film takes a while to cast its spell, writer-director-cinematographer Bernard Rose's close observation of Marks and those around him becomes increasingly involving and allows Rose to comment on the widespread failure of the war on drugs.

The writer-director tells the story with verve and small-budget ingenuity.

Ifans looks 20 years too old for the part, and the problem with the movie is it seems so desperate to be made that it barely cares that he spends half of his time miscast.

Ifans does a credible job of showing us how Marks moved from one lucrative situation to another... But the movie suffers from the usual clichés and tropes of its genre.