“PAINKILLER” SHOWS THE DARKEST SIDE OF OPIOID ADDICTION

Hollywood at times has a tendency to make some real-life situations over dramatic. In some cases, it is helpful to tell a story and in some in detracts from what the viewers can really glean from the story. That’s to say that it loses its heart. “Painkiller” on Netflix is dramatized to help tell the story of how the opioid epidemic affected, and still affects those that not only became addicted but also those that became caught up in the web of selling a product at all costs. Oxycontin is the main drug at the center of the story praised as a miracle drug for pain moderation and a highly addictive opioid. As with any reality based show you get somewhat attached to some of the characters they present whether they’re a real person or a collection of real people rolled into one character. That is the true testament of a good show like this is when it draws you in and the message doesn’t get lost.

“Painkiller” looks at the situation that the big pharmaceutical companies have and continue to cause in our society. What is that? Putting profit over everything else including the lives of those using their product. There is a cast of characters showing you the story from several angles: patients, pharma employees, the ownership of the company, and the prosecutors trying to prove the wrongdoings. Matthew Broderick plays Dr. Sackler the current patriarch of Purdue pharmaceuticals. He spends the series as an eccentric man arguing at times with the ghost of his dead uncle, played masterfully by Clark Gregg on how to make money while maintaining the family name and heritage. Both men play the roles so well that you will very likely believe they’re the real men. Uzo Aduba players Edie Flowers who is in the painstaking role of trying to find the proof to bring Purdue down. Taylor Kitsch plays Glen who suffers an injury and becomes addicted to the drug. West Duchovny as Shannon Schaeffer is a young woman drawn into the sales game of Oxy. All of their stories touch one another in varying moments and are intertwined as a whole for the story. While watching the episodes you get to see all the decisions made to take us further down the rabbit hole of greed and addiction.

This show is more than just some fluff filled piece or a finger waving in the face of those that have done bad things. It truly is a reflection of our society and our obsession with money and that no matter what it is – whether a drug or an addiction to social media there is someone out there trying to make a buck off of you. I’m not sure how many shows I’ve seen lately that will grip you as much as this one will. There are good guys and bad guys in the series. Sometimes the lines between them are blurred, but you know who to root for. I found myself invested in the characters so much so that it felt like a show and people I had been watching for years. You end up rooting for them to become better and for their characters to see the light or do the right thing. When they do you feel like cheering for them knowing that things will be better. You feel like the fight is won. Until you realize that it isn’t. The storytelling and direction draws you in so well and the acting of all involved is superb. Broderick, Aduba, and Kitsch could all win awards for their performances with their quirks and emotional performances. They give the show the soul it needs to balance out the bleak situation that we keep seeing. You will feel your frustration grow with the passing moments of success and failure by each. The show itself is a clear high-powered microscope on the big business encompassing the healthcare industry. At the end I felt angry thinking about the families affected by drug use caused mainly by the companies making billions off regular people. If you think real people aren’t affected you quickly learn that isn’t the case as each episode opens with a real family talking about the loss of their loved ones to opioids. If that isn’t real enough for you then I’m not sure what can be.