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The movie is based on the 1978 book The Basketball Diaries, and focuses on the basketball hopeful Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his real life story.   Jim is your everyday teenager who has a gift for both basketball as well as poetry.  The high school basketball team is one of the best in the state and Jim is being scouted to play college basketball.  The film does a great job showing how although the boys enjoy the game they dont enjoy their school or coach but they are very interested in their inner city surroundings.

As the story follows the lives of Jim, Pedro (James Madio) and Mickey (Mark Wahlberg) it is evident just how quickly the lives of curious teenagers can change and fall apart.  When Jim and his buddies get together with a couple of young ladies they are introduced to the interesting and destructive world of drug use.  After their first taste of drugs it doesnt take long before cocaine and heroin consume their lives.  Scott Kalvert does an exceptional job of not only showing us the reality that becomes of their lives but he uses creative cinematography to make it happen.

As the drugs take over, the boys quickly learn that they need money to support their addiction.  The reality of this situation and what the boys do is quite real and sad.  When robbing elderly ladies doesn't pay the bills the boys break into local businesses.  Jim hits a low when he turns to prostituting his own body to make a little cash for his next high.  The film doesn't cut any corners as it takes the viewer along on Jims destructive journey.

Jim ends up getting thrown out on the street by his mom (Lorraine Bracco) when she realizes that he is out of control.  Jims physical and mental degradation escalated to the point of near death because he has nowhere to go.  Jim hits his low when he is found lying unconscious in the snow on a neighborhood basketball court where he is rescused by an old friend named Reggie (Ernie Hudson) who takes him in during his detoxification.  Kalvert took his time showing us the detoxification process so that the viewer could get a feel for just how painful it can be.  The film turns slightly optimistic at the end when we discover that Jim turns his life around and now speaks of his experience.

The Basketball Diaries is a very real depiction of the life of Jim Carroll and the horrifying world of drug use.  The message of "drugs are bad" seems to be pushed hard in the film which might make the movie feel a bit preachy.  Those who have older teenagers that have not been exposed to the realities of the drug world might want to consider this films no holds barred introduction to that world.  Leonardo DiCaprio is exceptional in The Basketball Diaries and the film was a great launching pad for the acting success that was to follow.