[Pain Hustlers Review Netflix] Enjoyable to the performances of Emily Blunt and Chris Evans more than the opioid crisis.
Pain Hustlers
Summary
Overall, the movie is enjoyable and flows well, thanks to the performances of Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. It lightly explores a fictionalized version of the opioid crisis, making it entertaining without delving too deeply into the complexities. It doesn’t have the same depth and impact as the real-life events that were much more significant and industry-shaking.
Overall
6.5/10User Review
( votes)Pros
- inspired by the opioid crisis
- Performances by Emily Blunt and Chris Evans
- Slightly comedic movie
Cons
- The plot unfolds simply.
- The subplot has little impact on the main storyline.
Pain Hustlers A Netflix drama film about the startup pharmaceutical industry, directed by David Yates (known for his work on ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and ‘Harry Potter’), starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. It tells the story of a young woman who falls on hard times and takes a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative at a struggling startup company. However, she ends up saving the company and making it prosper through illegal means in the industry.
Pain Hustlers Review
The movie is inspired by the opioid crisis in America, which is related to the over-prescription of pain medication, leading to widespread addiction and a major public health crisis. There have been numerous investigations into various groups within the industry. The film takes this real-life premise and adapts it into a smaller-scale story. It centers around a startup company that sells pain medication to cancer patients. However, doctors are not ordering this new medication until Liza Drake, a single mother who has fallen on hard times and is burdened with taking care of her sick daughter, becomes a sales representative for the company at the invitation of Pete Brenner, who was drunk when he offered her the job. She ends up successfully marketing the medication and turns it into a dream job. However, her success is short-lived as illegal practices, similar to those in the opioid crisis case, catch up with her and the company.
With the opioid crisis being a well-known issue that everyone is already familiar with (Netflix even has a documentary called PainKiller on this topic), this film takes a new approach by narrating it as a drama of one’s life and growth in the startup industry instead. The characters in the story speak as if they are being interviewed, similar to a documentary, at various intervals, and then it delves into their life journey from downfall to success, highlighting how they achieved it. It incorporates some behind-the-scenes aspects of the opioid case, such as using attractive women to work as sales reps to promote drugs to doctors in various ways, including legal loopholes that pharmaceutical companies use to evade responsibility. The ultimate goal is to skyrocket sales to enter the stock market.
The movie takes place during an entertaining and colorful period, with Emily Blunt and Chris Evans’ performances together, trying to sell drugs in any way they can. They don’t feel they’re doing anything wrong since it’s the doctors who prescribe the medication, not them. Alongside this, there are smaller issues that add depth to the story, like a boss with a drastically changing personality, a mother who comes to work with her and attempts to flirt with the boss, and a seriously ill daughter in need of a large sum of money.Before reaching a conclusion similar to the real case, where she becomes a key character helping in the legal battle, which sets it apart from the real events and provides a relatively simple and straightforward ending.
Furthermore, the storyline attempts to weave in the personal lives of the characters Liza Drake and Pete Brenner, showing occasional chemistry between them. The film tries to inject a bit of romance into the narrative, with both characters supporting each other in their work, experiencing conflicts but ultimately proving themselves through their sales figures. However, their divergent future ambitions eventually turn them into adversaries.
Overall, the movie is enjoyable and flows well, thanks to the performances of Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. It lightly explores a fictionalized version of the opioid crisis, making it entertaining without delving too deeply into the complexities. It doesn’t have the same depth and impact as the real-life events that were much more significant and industry-shaking.