The wife of a man who nearly died of an opioid overdose comes bursting into the office of the sleazy doctor who prescribed it, wrongly, in exchange for personal gain. She slugs the doctor, in her agony. The scene comes deep into the new Netflix film “Pain Hustlers,” and it feels bracingly real and tragic.
The wife of a man who nearly died of an opioid overdose comes bursting into the office of the sleazy doctor who prescribed it, wrongly, in exchange for personal gain. She slugs the doctor, in her agony. and it feels bracingly real and tragic.
But that speaks precisely to the other big problem with the film, which is directed by “Harry Potter” vet David Yates and inspired by the article and book by Evan Hughes, telling the real-life tale of an opioid startup that intentionally mis-marketed a fentanyl spray meant for severe cancer pain. Here, the bare bones are the same, but Yates and screenwriter Wells Tower invent their own corrupt company and their own characters.
Then there’s Jackie, Liza’s mom, wacky but also steely, and, in the hands of a wonderful comic actor like O’Hara, vivid in everything she does. Lest you think Mom doesn’t approve of Liza’s slippery new career, heck, she joins her at the company, and even makes moves on the boss — but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Outfitted with a fake resume — Pete, with a quick edit, gives her a biochem degree — Liza gets hired by Zanna, the company run by eccentric billionaire doctor Jack Neel and proves a quick study. Against all odds, she finds a doctor to write a prescription for Lonafen, a sublingual fentanyl spray. Soon she’s corralled him into a “speakers program” designed to bribe more doctors.
But things start getting uncomfortable. Neel, increasingly paranoid, rejects Liza’s proposed compliance plan. Then, he decides the best way to improve flat sales is to market Lonafen off-label — for any kind of pain, even headaches.
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