Although Emily Blunt did an excellent job in Oppenheimer, I did think it was kind of a thankless part. That does not appear to be the case with her next project. Yesterday Netflix released a trailer for Pain Hustlers, coming out in late October and starring Blunt and Chris Evans as pharmaceutical reps. I’m getting Erin Brockovich-meets-Breaking Bad vibes, with an opioid-crisis setting:
Emily Blunt is hustling her way to the top in her latest film.
On Wednesday, Netflix debuted the first trailer for Pain Hustlers, which stars Blunt and Chris Evans as pharmaceutical sales employees pushing opioids in a story based on real events.
Blunt plays Liza Drake, a single mom “at the end of her rope” after losing her job, per a synopsis. “A chance meeting with pharmaceutical sales rep Pete Brenner (Evans) puts her on an upwards trajectory economically but dubious path ethically as she becomes entangled in a dangerous racketeering scheme.”
The film’s trailer teases Liza and Pete’s high-earning, hard-partying lifestyle as title cards read that Pain Hustlers “may cause increased energy, elevated mood, ecstasy, paranoia, aggression [and] greed.”
As Liza deals with “her increasingly unhinged boss, the worsening medical condition of her daughter, and a growing awareness of the devastation the company is causing,” she begins to re-examine her career choices.
Netflix described the film as a “sharp and revealing look at what some people do out of desperation and others do out of greed.”
[From People]
Tis the season for pharmaceutical cinema, I guess. I’m genuinely surprised that Netflix is releasing this so soon after Painkiller, their six-part series with Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler that just came out last month. Don’t get me wrong, I’m positively gleeful with Big Pharma clocking in so much screen time as the super villains they are. They’ve well and truly earned it. I just find the timing questionable from a content perspective. My general impression of this first trailer was, this story has already been told, so what’s different? I think it’s gonna come down to the solid cast bringing people in, led by Blunt and Evans, and rounded out with Andy Garcia and… Catherine O’Hara! You can’t tell who she’s playing from the trailer, but does it really matter? (Answer: no. Thank you for gifting us with your talent, O Great Catherine.)
Photos credit: Brian Douglas/Netflix
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