28 Days

28 Days (2000) is an American drama-comedy directed by Betty Thomas — watch online on iFILM. New York writer Gwen Cummings shows up drunk to her sister's wedding, steals the limo, and takes out a neighbour's porch. A judge gives her the choice: jail or twenty-eight days in a residential rehab clinic.

She picks rehab. Then spends the first week trying to prove she doesn't belong there. Sandra Bullock plays Gwen without softening her — the character is selfish and dismissive for a long stretch, which is exactly right. The supporting cast around her includes Steve Buscemi as a counsellor who has seen every kind of denial, Viggo Mortensen as a fellow patient with his own damage, and Dominic West. Screenwriter Susannah Grant keeps the story from collapsing into a tidy recovery arc: not everyone makes it, and the ones who do don't get a triumphant montage.

For a studio film about addiction, it's more honest than most. Stream 28 Days (2000) online on iFILM.