Review: Finding Yourself Has No Age Limit In ‘The Addiction Of Hope’

Anne-Marie Johnson in The Addiction of Hope. (Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Johnson)

Written and directed by:

Martin A. Gottlieb

Starring:

Anne-Marie Johnson, Harley Jane Kozak, Clancy Brown, Erika Alexander, Alan Rosenberg, Shari Belafonte, Matthew Moy, Susan Ruttan, Martin A. Gottlieb (as Martin Grey)

Synopsis (courtesy The Addiction of Hope EPK):

The Addiction of Hope is a female driven independent feature film that touches on age, race, gender, family, health and the choices
we make in life. Do our actions, our work, our relationships make us feel good? Do they fulfill us? Do we want the same thing at an older age as we did when we were younger?

Jo Stock is an African-American woman of a certain age faced with a decision that could uproot her life at a time when it’s
uncomfortable to change. As an aging actress living off her past success, she’s forced to examine her choices in life and the
importance of family versus fame when her sister, Lynnie gets sick in this story about having the courage to change your life.

Monique’s review:

The Addiction of Hope is a hidden gem of an indie production. Even though the film focuses on a Hollywood actress facing an existential crisis in her career, her feelings about life and herself are universal. No matter what industry you’re in or your stage of life, many of us have come to a personal fork in the road where something has to change in our lives for us to feel better about ourselves and life in general.

For Jo (Johnson), her personal crisis of professional burnout comes as her sister (Kozak) faces a cancer diagnosis. Her sister’s health brings Jo’s family trauma and her waning drive in her career into full relief.

I’m no actress, but I have worked in the entertainment industry as a freelance journalist. It’s much harder than you think, especially when you don’t live in LA or New York. Regardless of where you live, though, working in the journalism industry can be draining for a myriad of social and business reasons and, if you’re not careful, you can become jaded.

I’m sure if you’ve been in an industry for a good portion of your life, you might have also faced the feeling of, “Do I need to hang it up?”–it’s a tough feeling to have. But The Addiction of Hope is a cathartic watch for that reason. You get to see Jo go through layers of tiredness, cynicism, and even violent self-hate as she finally finds peace.

Her path with family trauma also brings relief as well, reminding us that we can still connect and even find closure with our loved ones even after they’re gone. Again, I have also experienced learning more about my father after his death. Granted, I didn’t have the same issues Jo has with her parent. But realizing our parents are just humans doing their best is important.

Overall, the film boasts great performances from Johnson and the cast, and the storyline provides audiences with authentic, relatable experiences.

You can stream The Addiction of Hope on Tubi, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play and Amazon Prime.