Crafted to obliterate the damaging stereotypes of the relationships between addiction and self-centeredness, the drama All the World is Sleeping tells its story alive and with style. Writing and directing this captivating drama is Ryan Lacen, perhaps most known for his stunning lead roles in Scream alongside Melissa Barrera, who is a fascinating actress after her stunning roles in Vida and the Heights. She, along with another seven women who had substance abuse, provided portions from their lives as an addict that had never been uncovered before. Trauma appears to be an unfortunate trend that leads to addiction, which is further worsened by the entire process of becoming a mother. Drug abuse, trauma, and parenthood are a difficult combination, and the film does a wonderful job of exposing such insights which are normally not available to the public.
We move from the past to the present repeatedly, following Chama (Barrera) in her battle with drugs, rehabilitation, and motherhood. Never (Adilynn Menendez) is Chama’s daughter and she is fuelling her mother’s desperation to build a better life. In the early parts of the film, this situation presents itself in the form of Chama desperately seeking a job. Getting into employment as an ex-addict is hard enough, but the stigma that comes with addiction makes it even more impossible. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the system in place seems set on inviting people back into their addiction what else is there to make a person feel at ease? It certainly appears to be how Chama comes across a crack pipe and gets high while hallucinating about black feathers falling around her. Abuela said these feathers were a warning, but I suppose for Chama they were anything but.
Chama hitting rock bottom means overdosing in the bathroom of her daughter’s birthday party. All the World is Sleeping captures the usual reactions from Chama’s outraged relatives, including her angry sister, Mari (Alexis B. Santiago). The more nuanced aspects of this script derive from Chama’s particular take on the situation. Watching her life and history unfold through heart-wrenching flashbacks can be quite challenging. These moments in time can be disorienting and jarring at times. However, they are necessary to enhance Chama’s character.
Chama remains motivated to improve herself every step of the way for Nevaeh. She wants to do everything in her power to ensure her daughter’s childhood is not as rough as her own. Barrera embodies every second of this performance with the passion and care of a mother. A heartbreaking scene with the tragic enabler and addict, Toaster (Jackie Cruz), where Chama screams Help us came close to making me sob.
One can feel the truly heartbreaking devotion of Chama’s need to go back to her daughter, but how exactly can she escape from a seemingly impossible situation?
Ideally, a film like To Leslie would not only receive an Oscar nomination, he afford a hope that smaller independents like All The World Is Sleeping will someday get a greater audience. It is a sad tale of addiction and motherhood which should not only be heard but seen. Only Requiem for A Dream before it has realistically shown the manic horror of addiction in all its ugliness. The two would make an excellent, albeit depressing, double feature. Melissa Barrera does not fail yet again to prove to her annoying online haters as she sinks into the troubling lows of a mother trying to escape her past. The stories told by secondary characters are so real and vulnerable that they have no choice but to be true. Participation in the nonprofit organization Bold Futures New Mexico which leads policy change, research, place-based organizing, and culture shift by and for women and people of color makes the film All The World is Sleeping unparalleled in the world of addiction dramas.
Mark your calendars and set your reminders. The All the World is Sleeping.
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