What is it about?
A career in pharmaceutical sales would solve his family’s financial problems. But what will be the price of the American dream?
who is he with
Emily Blunt and Chris Evans headline “Merchants of Pain” and star alongside Andy Garcia (as a pharmaceutical CEO), Kathryn O’Hara (who plays Blunt’s mother) and Brian D’Arcy James again, as the doctor goes rogue.
Is it worth checking out?
It’s a popular topic: the opioid crisis that began in the United States in the early 1990s and whose effects are still being felt today. Within two years there was the excellent Dopesick and the less-than-good Painkiller, but also The Fall of the House of Usher, inspired by the same story from the TV series.
On the film side, we were treated to a dazzling display of all beauty and spilled blood, but also Merchants of Pain, available today on Netflix.
If it doesn’t tell the story of the fall and rise of the Sackler family after marketing OxyContin, this police drama, which occasionally flirts with comedy, points the finger at pharmaceutical companies that have gotten rich off the backs of patients.
We’re in the mid-2010s. Many companies are on the FBI’s radar for using questionable marketing techniques to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs off-label.
It is in this ultra-competitive market that Andy Garcia’s character decides to market Lonafen, a fentanyl spray that is supposed to be faster and less addictive than other similar products.
Emily Blunt, a single mother who can sell anything, is then hired by Chris Evans to save a company trying to sell a drug. And this is the starting point of the merchants of pain.
Netflix’s The Dealers of Pain
The film directed by David Yates (Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts) follows a fairly classic and predictable trajectory: Blunt’s character succeeds in the first sales, the company grows, money flows freely… But the problem with such personalities is that we always need more. And here everything goes to hell.
Presented at the Toronto Film Festival to a lukewarm reception, “Merchants of Pain” isn’t necessarily the best film you’ll see about the opioid crisis, but it has the merits of being there.
His style, flirting with the Wolf of Wall Street or the Big Short, still makes for effective entertainment and helps us understand as much as possible how the pharmaceutical lobby works across the Atlantic.
From this film we will especially remember Emily Blunt’s always flawless performance, which overshadows others.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
