Sweet Jane

Sweet Jane is a 1998 drama about an unlikely friendship that develops between an HIV positive prostitute addicted to heroin and a terminally-ill fifteen-year-old boy. Sweet Jane was directed by Joe Gayton and stars Samantha Mathis as Jane and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tony. The film opened at the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival. Plot Jane is a junkie who works as a prostitute to pay for her addiction. Tony is a 15-year-old boy, dying of AIDS, living in a hospital to minimize the severity of his illness. Having overdosed on heroin in an alley, Jane ponders on whether she should have regrets if she dies or make apologies as paramedics try to save her. She decides "fuck it", no regrets, but that "feels like [she] should be thinking of someone". The paramedics revive her and take her to the hospital. When she wakes up, the attending doctor (Kimberly Scott) informs Jane she is HIV positive. In the same hospital, Tony is being lectured by a therapist about starting a fire in the game room and hiding his medication. The therapist insists Tony take his meds, and it is revealed he has pneumonia. Tony storms off, asking what it matters, he will die anyway. Beginning to experience the symptoms of withdrawal, Jane leaves the hospital, passing by Tony's room. Tony sees her, instantly becomes infatuated, and follows her out into the streets. Jane eventually takes notice and tells Tony to stop following her. He does, apparently. Going to her usual dealer (Derek Webster), he refuses to sell to Jane, despite her pleas and attempts at trading drugs for sexual favors. She then goes to a dance club, where she begs the owner to let her dance behind glass for the customers. Tony follows her in, without her knowledge. At the end of her dance, she is horrified to find Tony watching her from behind one of the booths. She gets her money, leaves in a hurry and scores with a dealer in an alley. High and unaware of reality, Jane wanders the streets, Tony behind her, watching over her. The next morning, Jane wakes up in a dusty field, Tony sitting beside her. Preparing to leave and hoping Tony will stay away from her, Jane finds vomit on her shirt and knows it will be harder to attract johns that way. In a local department store, Jane is shifting through a rack and Tony appears. She orders him to leave, so it will not attract attention when she steals the blouse, but before he moves away, she asks him what colour the shirt is, as she is colour blind.