The Panic in Needle Park

The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino in his second film appearance. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the book by James Mills.

In New York City, Helen returns to the apartment she shares with her boyfriend Marco after enduring an unhygienic and inept abortion. Although Helen becomes ill from the procedure, Marco is satisfied because he was able to procure the abortion through bartering, and thus did not have to expend any money. When Marco leaves briefly to collect some cash, Bobby, an amiable smalltime drug dealer to whom Marco owes money, shows unexpected gentleness and concern for Helen. Soon after, when Helen is hospitalized for profuse bleeding, Bobby sneaks in after visiting hours and tells her that Marco has gone away. Briefly, Helen considers returning to her dysfunctional family in Fort Wayne, Indiana. However, after she is released from the hospital, she moves in with Bobby. As they are walking together, Bobby steals a television out of a parked van and pawns it for money to buy drugs. At his apartment, Bobby declines Helens invitation to have sex until she feels better. When she awakens to find him taking drugs, he explains that he is not an addict, but only chipping.At Sherman Square, which has been nicknamed Needle Park because it is a hangout for drug dealers and addicts, Bobby introduces Helen to various acquaintances that make up his social group of drug customers. At a cheap luncheonette, she meets Bobbys older brother Hank, who wears a suit and burgles for a living. In an apartment used by several addicts, Helen witnesses the intricate ritual of shooting up or preparing and injecting the heroin into a vein, and listens to their discussion of the price and availability of drugs. On the street, Bobby becomes anxious when drugs he has paid for are not in the telephone booth where he is to pick them up. After tracking down the man who sold him the drugs, he is redirected to look into a trash can. That night his drugtaking renders him unable to make love to Helen. ........

Source: Wikipedia