Smashed

This unique take on sobriety is less concerned with the ravages of alcoholism or the trauma of recovery as it is in creating a portrait of a character and a marriage that explores what is lost and gained when one partner gives up drinking and the other does not. Mary Elizabeth Winstead—last seen starring in the 2011 remake/prequel The Thingand featured in a lot of other genre films (Deathproof, Life Free or Die Hard, Scot Pilgrim vs. the World), flexes some terrific acting chops in this restrained but emotional performance. The rest of the cast, including a few big names, isn't quite at the level she is in this film, but a picture like this wins or loses with the central performance, and Smashed is a big win. The film deals with alcoholism the way 2010's Rabbit Hole dealt with the loss of a child—in a restrained, non-melodramatic way. There isn't a whole lot new to say about sobriety, so Smashed avoids saying what's already been said repeatedly in hundreds of prior films and focuses on what it's like to come to realizations about oneself and make choices, making it a worthy entry into the recovery genre.