"Cocaine Bear," the new film directed by Elizabeth Banks (of the "Hunger Games" franchise), sounds like one of the most absurd stories you may have ever heard, but as crazy as it is, the feature is based on a real case, which occurred in the state of Georgia, in the United States, during the 1980s, when a bear accidentally used cocaine.
The film recalls the true story of a drug dealer's plane crash, when several batches of cocaine ended up spilling out in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, and part of them were consumed by a bear weighing over 220kg that inhabited the place.
Unlike what is shown in the film's previews, which appear to be silliness, the animal did not go into a raging frenzy attacking everything or everyone that came its way, as is shown in the trailer. On the contrary, the bear was found dead, with no reports of violence against residents, after an overdose due to the large amount that was ingested by the animal.
Furthermore, the local population, with the help of investigators, managed to find the rest of the packages of cocaine that were lost in the forest, amounting to about forty packages, with each one supposedly containing about one kilo of cocaine. In the decade in which the accident occurred, the lot found was valued at approximately twenty million dollars.
Elizabeth Banks herself said that what drew her attention to the project was the absurd situation: "It's a great character study. Obviously the bear is the star, but I felt a lot of empathy for him. When I read the story, I thought, 'My God, I can't believe that a random bear in the woods has become collateral damage from the war on drugs in the United States. It even seems unfair. I felt it was almost like The Revenge of the Bear, the Movie," the director revealed.
However, in "Cocaine Bear" the story is mixed with fiction, and the viewer embarks on a journey with a group of criminals trying to get their stash back while a deranged bear wanders through the forest. This opens up countless possibilities and situations to be explored in this crazy plot.
"It was exciting to me that I could tell this story from many points of view, bring them all to the same place, and track how inept they are at dealing with a bear high on cocaine. I like to serve multiple story lines. As a filmmaker, I like to invite as many different perspectives into the film as possible," Banks revealed.
The production also marks the last work of actor Ray Liotta, who passed away earlier this year. In addition to the star, the cast includes Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, Margo Martindale, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
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