One of the sinks was blocked and full of scummy water.

NEWYORKER: Friendly Fire

But when Jim discovers heroin and the film finds a sense of responsibility the freedom disappears: the latter half becomes a gruelling catalogue of cold nights, blue lips, and scummy needles.

NEWYORKER: The Basketball Diaries

Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese worked hard to bring Boston to life in "Mystic River" and "The Departed, " respectively, but "Gone Baby Gone" feels more intimately grounded in the dirty streets and scummy bars, and the aggressive pride that comes with them.

CNN: Review: 'Gone Baby Gone' is good, very good

How scummy can you get?

FORBES: God and the devil