''Bristol Boys'' is a 2006 film written and directed by Brandon David. Shot in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, the ...

and

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, the film is based on one of biggest drug busts of Connecticut's Statewide Narcotics Task Force, including the arrest of David's longtime friend Kevin Toolen in 2001. Will Janowitz and

Max Casella Max Casella (born Maximilian Deitch; June 6, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''The Sopranos'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', ''Vinyl'', '' Cro'' and the voice of Daxter in the ''Jak ...

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

fame star in the film, as do

Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama ''Oz (TV series), Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me (U.S. TV series), Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and th ...

and

David Zayas David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on Showtime's series '' Dexter'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''. Early life Zayas was born in Ponce, Puer ...

from '' Oz''.

Plot

The story revolves around Michael "Little Man" McCarthy and the rise and fall of marijuana dealers from

. "The film is about a group of working-class guys trying to get ahead by selling drugs," said David, "and the value system they try to live by."

Inspiration

Director/writer Brandon David based the movie on the events leading up to and following a months-long investigation by the Statewide Narcotics Task Force which resulted in the arrest of 21 people from Bristol, Plymouth, Southington, and Thomaston. David's friends Kevin Toolen and Miguel Rivera were arrested in the bust. David says he hoped to write on the experiences of his friends and himself while transporting marijuana with Toolen cross country. Several aspects of the movie are taken directly from the real life events, such as "Little Man" being ratted out by a trusted friend. "It is a shocking fact that a good friend of Kevin's was a

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

informant," David said, which was another motivation to make the movie. David did take creative license on some realities, such as making "Little Man's" mother addicted to

OxyContin Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...

and dying of an overdose. Toolen's mother died in 2000 but had been suffering from leukemia. Also, the police informant's death in the movie is fiction. "There was no murder, but if I were the guy that ratted everybody out, I'd be concerned," said David. David denies the movie is an attack on Bristol. "The biggest message I want to get out is I didn't make a movie about Bristol. I made a movie about something that happened to people I know," he said. However, he openly criticizes Bristol, calling it an "industrial wasteland."

References

External links

* 2006 films 2006 crime drama films Films set in Connecticut American crime drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub