Is the opioid crisis finally getting a movie and perhaps getting the “Traffic” treatment from multiple perspectives on the cause and effect? That seems to be the case with Nicholas Jarecki’s upcoming dramatic-thriller “Crisis” starring Academy Award-winner Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour,” “Mank“) and Golden Globe-nominees Armie Hammer (“Call Me By Your Name,” “The Social Network“) and Evangeline Lilly (“Antman and The Wasp,” “The Hurt Locker“), to name just a few in a big ensemble cast.
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“I always like these films that have multiple stories going on; the films of high and low,” Jarecki told EW this week. “Here, we look at the opioid issue all the way from the billionaires who control the pharmaceutical companies with their private jets and their mansions, down to the drug traffickers and smugglers, and also those directly affected by the opioids; users, addicts, and people with family in trouble. This crisis crosses all walks of life. Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It’s hitting like a category five hurricane, everywhere, and it continues to hit.”
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Alongside the aforementioned stars, the outstanding ensemble cast Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine), Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast and the Furious series), Luke Evans (The Girl on the Train), Lily-Rose Depp (The King), Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi (“Westworld”), Duke Nicholson (Us), Veronica Ferres (Salt and Fire) and Martin Donovan (Tenet). Here’s the official synopsis:
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CRISIS follows a drug trafficker, an architect recovering from an Oxycodone addiction, and a university professor battling unexpected revelations about his employer as each story collides against the backdrop of the opioid epidemic. This powerful and informative thriller brings human faces to a crisis that is all too real for many Americans while elevating the story to an urgent call to action.
“Crisis” is Jarecki’s follow up to his critically acclaimed breakout hit, “Arbitrage,” the highest-grossing independent film to be released “day and date” in cinema history. “Crisis” is opening in theaters on February 26th and digital and on-demand on March 5. Watch the first trailer below.