Protection
dir. Spangler
Fri Nov 9
Guild Theater

You thinkyour life is hard. Just imagine what life would be like as a social worker: You call mothers all day who are shooting heroin while their kids play with hypodermic needles on the floor. Or sometimes, you go over to a drug house and tear a couple of kids from their mother's arms, while both the mom and kids scream. You're overworked, underpaid, and inside a system without sympathy. You're the bad guy. And all you wanted was to help someone.

This is essentially the message that Protection posits. It's the story of two women: a social worker, and a mother who somehow strayed from the path of loving mom and got addicted to smack. Both women are miserable. The social worker is burned out and depressed from years of tearing abused kids from their homes and then watching as, six months later, the kids get sent right back home, where they are molested or forced to watch their mom get beat up with a hockey stick. There's some interesting parallels between the two women, who are on opposite sides of the equation. Both women are trapped, both unhappy, and both unable to communicate with the two kids in question, who are obviously getting some major emotional scars. One of the best scenes happens when the junkie mom looks at the social worker and asks accusingly, "Do you have any kids? You don't, do you?" The social worker can't hide her flinch, and it's an illuminating moment, because it reveals the limits of her ability to help; she can watch, but she can never really understand.

But ultimately, the movie doesn't really bring anything new to the table. You know going in that it's a depressing movie about The System, and that's what you get. Plus, without any fun plot twists or suspense in the movie, the acting has to be really good. It's not. You're simply not emotionally involved with the characters, despite the horror of the situation. The content of this movie has the potential to make you slit your wrists. Unfortunately, you'll just feel a bit nauseous in a few scenes.