10 Great Films About Addiction

Based on the powerful autobiographical novel of the same name by Jim Carroll, The Basketball Diaries stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg in two of their earliest and most underrated roles.

DiCaprio plays Carroll during his years as a high school basketball star lost to drugs and crime. He's joined by friends Mickey (Wahlberg), Pedro (James Madio) and Neutron (Patrick McGraw), as each of them come face to face with their flaws and increasingly troubled personal lives.

Though it received a mixed reception when it was released, The Basketball Diaries has aged quite well, and remains to date a gritty, often uncomfortable drama about dreams unfulfilled, destroyed family lives and friendship in the face of personal trauma.

Since it's based on the late Jim Carroll's own experiences, the film is a deeply personal work, tough to watch in places but constantly honest and unflinching.

And as an acting masterclass, it has to be seen for a young DiCaprio and Wahlberg alone, both of whom own the screen with every scene they get.