The Resurrection of Jake The Snake

Steve Yu's 2015 documentary finds Jake Roberts, one of the best known names in wrestling in the eighties and nineties, long after his career. Roberts has been losing to alcohol and drugs for years; his family has cut ties and his health is badly damaged. His former colleague Dallas Page takes him into his own house and puts him on a recovery programme. The film records that process from beginning to end, improvements and relapses alike, and the camera stays with Roberts through his worst moments. After a while Scott Hall is living in the same house, and how two addicts hold each other up becomes a second story. The documentary does not present recovery as a straight tale of success. Who it's for: viewers interested in wrestling history and documentaries about fighting addiction. Who it's not for: anyone who does not want to see addiction at its rawest; the film prettifies nothing.