PAIN HUSTLERS
NEW FROM FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER,
NETFLIX DRAMA
America’s opioid crisis is a big topic for Hollywood, with viewers captivated by stories of greedy pharmaceutical companies profiting from people’s suffering in TV series such as Michael Keaton’s Dopesick and Matthew Broderick’s Painkiller.
This week, Netflix brings another dose of ‘pharma drama’ in the much-anticipated new movie Pain Hustlers, starring Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns, Oppenheimer) as an ambitious pharmaceuticals sales executive who’s desperate to make money.
The plot is inspired by a 2018 New York Times Magazine article and subsequent book, The Hard Sell (2022), by journalist Evan Hughes, which exposed how a small opioid company peddled a pain-relief spray for cancer patients that contained the highly addictive ingredient fentanyl. Names have been changed and characters have been invented for the film, but the essence of how sales representatives bribed doctors to write prescriptions remains at its core.
SHARED VISION
Emily plays high-school dropout and single mum Liza Drake, who lands a job at Zanna, a floundering (fictional) pharmaceutical start- up nestled in a jaded shopping mall in Central Florida.
Shady salesman Pete Brenner (Captain America star Chris Evans) sweet-talks her into it, promising she’ll make a quick buck by convincing doctors to prescribe fentanyl-based miracle drug Lonafen, which is designed to help cancer patients.
But as Liza reaps the rewards and finally starts living the high life, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous racketeering scheme. How far will she go to reach her targets?
Esta historia es de la edición October 21, 2023 de TV Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición October 21, 2023 de TV Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
On a KNIFE'S EDGE
Life changes in an instant for Samson and Matty....
Playing DIRTY
Dying Nish wonders who he can really trust...
I want you BACK!
Will Cindy succeed in seducing George?
Keeping SECRETS
Is Leanne cheating on Nick with Rowan?
Marry ME!
Dee-Dee's stunned when Joel gets down on one knee
DEEP trouble
We discover the secrets behind a new French shark movie
Line of BEAUTY
How a glossy drama explores a style icon's rise to fame
Reporting for DUTY
Hollywood star HILARY SWANK introduces us to her journalism drama
Family MATTERS
FRA FEE and SION DANIEL YOUNG on a tale exploring a gay couple's journey to adopt
We will REMEMBER THEM
A groundbreaking docuseries is among the BBC's special programmes to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day