Gus Van Sant's breakthrough film, Drug Store Cowboys is yet another gritty, realistic portrait of heroin addiction that would put you off doing drugs for the rest of your life. The story follows Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) who is the head of a group of heroin addicts who roam the Pacific North West, robbing and stealing - particularly drug stores and hospitals. After a tragic incident, Bob vows to turn over a new leaf but it is hard, vey damn hard. Definitely Van Sant's greatest movie (he has never topped its excellence) which features a brilliant performance from Matt Dillon, we get to see how isolated the addict becomes with their drugs. The characters are just obsessed with ripping off pharmacies and that seems to be the centre of their lives - for both drugs and illicit thrills. It is another story about heroin addiction which is filmed documentary style which in turn enhances the film's grittiness and realism. Drugs do not look remotely glamorous in the film as the devastating effects of drugs is laid bare for us all to see - death, withdrawal, trouble with the law. The Junkie does not lead a full life - only one dictated to by craving and the satiation of that craving. Drugstore Cowboy shows the futility and emptiness of a life of addiction and there's no way we want any part of it.