Emily Blunt Explores The Corrupt Pharmaceutical Industry In Pain Hustlers
Liza Drake (Emily Blunt) is a single mom who just lost her job and is at the end of her rope. When she meets pharmaceutical sales rep Pete Brenner (Chris Evans), he puts her on a financially successful, but dubious path ethically as she becomes entangled in a dangerous racketeering scheme. Struggling with the worsening medical condition of her daughter (Chloe Coleman) and a growing awareness of the downsides to the company forces Liza to examine her choices.
Pain Hustlers is a revealing look at how the pharmaceutical industry can be infiltrated by greedy people when intentions were originally to help those in pain. The film is directed by BAFTA award winner David Yates and the cast also includes Andy Garcia, Catherine O'Hara, Jay Duplass, and Brian d’Arcy James.
Pain Hustlers follows the exploration and escalation of pharmaceutical sales when the employees are incentivized greatly and the consumers don’t know any better. The trust that patients have in their doctors can be easily abused when the doctors have more knowledge and hold more power. This drug epidemic has been growing for years and many people don’t understand how it happened. This film is a deep dive into the industry practices that led to an unprecedented amount of overdoses.
Emily Blunt is the standout star of the film, as a complicated mother hoping to save her and her daughter’s life. Everything she does is for the sake of her family, but after a certain point she starts to question if her motive has turned from survival to greed. In the end, she is determined to expose the truth after feeling immense guilt for the customers that overdosed as a result of her actions. Blunt is incredible at portraying the hard directness of a scrappy saleswoman alongside the emotional vulnerability of a struggling mother.
The film reflected a lot of similar themes to Painkiller, a fictionalized retelling of events based on the origin and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America. The limited series highlights the stories of perpetrators, victims, and truth seekers as the invention of OxyContin alters the lives of many. The crime, addiction, accountability, and lies that failed hundreds of thousands of Americans is exposed. This idea was also recently tackled in Mike Flanagan’s dark and twisted The Fall of the House of Usher, about a family that is the heir of a pharmaceutical empire.
Pain Hustlers is a realistic depiction of true events pertaining to the rise and sales of pharmaceuticals. An incredible performance by Emily Blunt brings the story to life, exploring the motivations behind such a destructive scheme. For documentary fans and those looking to learn more about the drug epidemic, this film is a must watch.
Pain Hustlers is streaming on Netflix.
