This is a heartbreaking look at generational addiction. Filmed over three years, the documentary follows a 26-year-old woman trying to break free from the same cycle of drugs, prison, and trauma that consumed her mother.
I first heard about this one thanks to Holden Walter-Warner and Nick Perry of Digital Trends.
If you want to watch similar docs, check out my colleague Rob Kelly’s Top 15 Documentaries About Addiction.
Trailer for “Jacinta”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Jacinta and her mother, Rosemary, are locked up in the same prison at the same time. They’re both battling heroin addiction.
- Jacinta casually explains that when she was a teenager, her own mother prostituted her to help fund her drug addiction.
- After getting out of prison, Jacinta drives around Lewiston, Maine looking for drugs while the cameras are rolling. She eventually shoots heroin on camera.
Watch “Jacinta”
You can watch “Jacinta” on Hulu or Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 95/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 94/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Jessica Earnshaw directed this 105-minute documentary. Earnshaw spent over three years embedded with Jacinta and her family, capturing moments most filmmakers would never gain access to.
Release Date: October 23, 2020
My Review of “Jacinta”
The Setup
This 105-minute documentary starts inside the Maine Correctional Center. Jacinta is 26 years old and serving time alongside her 46-year-old mother Rosemary.
Jacinta grew up surrounded by drugs, crime, and instability. By her teenage years she was already addicted to heroin and cycling through the prison system.
Now she’s about to be released again. This time she wants something different. Her goal is simple but enormous: stay sober long enough to become a real mother to her daughter Caylynn.
Caylynn, who is 10 during the filming, lives with her paternal grandparents and is desperate for her mom to get better.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Even while incarcerated together, the two still speak to each other with intense affection. They call each other “Mommy” and “baby.”
- The film follows Jacinta through sober houses, probation check-ins, and job searches as she tries to rebuild a stable life after prison.
- Director Jessica Earnshaw uses a cinéma vérité style—meaning there’s no narration and very little interference. The camera just observes, even during Jacinta’s relapses.
- Lewiston, Maine becomes a major character in the film. It’s a small city that has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
- The most emotional scenes involve Jacinta trying to reconnect with Caylynn, who clearly loves her mom but has already been disappointed many times.
- The film also explores Jacinta’s complicated bond with her mother Rosemary—both loving and destructive at the same time.
- Jacinta’s daughter Caylynn is being raised by her paternal grandparents. She’s waiting and hoping her mom will finally stay clean long enough to come home.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Jessica Earnshaw originally met Jacinta while working as a photographer documenting addiction and incarceration in Maine.
- The film was shot over three years, allowing the audience to see multiple cycles of hope, relapse, and recovery attempts.
- Jacinta often reflects on how trauma can move through families—how what happened to her as a child shaped the choices she made as an adult.
- Unlike many addiction documentaries, this one shows drug use directly on camera, which makes some scenes extremely difficult to watch.
Wrap Up
“Jacinta” is one of the rawest addiction documentaries I’ve seen. It shows how drugs can ripple through entire families for generations.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc