After several years working in television, David Yates rose to worldwide fame when he directed the final four films in theHarry Pottersaga and, subsequently, all three installments of the spin-off prequel seriesFantastic Beasts. But this year, the director distanced himselffrom the Wizarding Worldto treat audiences toPain Hustlers, a movie starring Emily Blunt that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and made its way to Netflix on October 27.
This drama film revolves around both the opioid crisis and pharmaceutical corruption by introducing Liza Drake (Blunt), a single mom struggling to make ends meet who, on top of it all, has just lost her job as an exotic dancer. In a desperately strapped situation, she secures a position in a nearly bankrupt pharmaceutical company, and through her efforts, the business rises to millions in profits and her life begins to change in ways she could never have imagined. But the deeds of the company are anything but morally correct, and before she knows it, Liza is caught in a criminal conspiracy that could utterly undermine her new, lavish lifestyle.
Blunt stars in this productionalongside Chris Evans, Andy García, Catherine O’Hara, Jay Duplass, and Brian d’Arcy James. Despite being helmed by a great filmmaker and featuring a star-studded cast,Pain Hustlersfailed to live up to expectations and received mostly negative reviews for its execution and its take on the opioid crisis. Still, this new Netflix film is a good one to check out, as part of its appeal stems from the fact that it’s inspired by true events. Here’s a look at the real story behind the movie.
The Real Story Behind Pain Hustlers
Pain Hustlersis based on a true story chronicled in aNew York Timesarticle by Evan Hughes, which he expanded a few years later in the bookPain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup. Said article, published in May 2018, brings to light the story of John Kapoor, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur-turned-criminal who, back in the 1990s, founded the specialty pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics. Through this venture, Kapoor introduced Subsys, an innovative and potent opioid medication formulated to relieve pain in patients dealing with severe forms of cancer. One of Subsys' main ingredients is fentanyl, an opioid drug used as an analgesic far stronger than morphine that can lead to addiction and overdose.
to position his addictive flagship product, Kapoor launched a “speaker program” that basically involved paying different doctors to not only promote, but also prescribe his drug indiscriminately in higher and higher doses. He also hired a team of sales representatives, mostly made up of good-looking people who focused exclusively on recruiting new doctors with heinous marketing and racketeering tactics, which further cemented the medicine in the business.
Pain Hustlers Review: A Placebo of a Movie
Despite a talented director and solid cast, Pain Hustlers never elevates itself to being more than a Netflix title that reminds you of better movies.
Despite being a drug designed solely for severe cancer patients who were already tolerating opioids, Insys Therapeutics pushed a number of doctors in the United States to prescribe Subsys to patients who did not have cancer and had no need for such strong medications, contributing heavily to the U.S. opioid crisis and padding their pockets at the expense of the health of countless patients. Due to the indiscriminate prescribing of Subsys, thousands of people developed strong addictions and many others overdosed. The company was allegedly well aware of the devastating consequences of their product’s wrongful use, but they continued to promote it in an effort to make even more money.
For their involvement in this criminal conspiracy that claimed a huge number of victims, Kapoor and a few other executives of Insys Therapeutics were found guilty of racketeering charges in a jury trial that took place in May 2019. Ultimately, the founder of the company was sentenced to serve 66 months in prison for bribing medical practitioners to prescribe his drug even when it was medically unnecessary, and Insys Therapeutics filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
Pain Hustlers Cast and Character Guide
Pain Hustlers sees Chris Evans and Emily Blunt involved in a racketeering conspiracy. Here’s your guide to the Netflix movie’s cast and characters.
Does Liza Drake Exist in Real Life?
Even though it is based on a true story,Pain Hustlerstook a number of creative liberties along the way, such as introducing Insys as Zanna Therapeutics, and Subsys as Lonafen. One of the biggest alterations in Yates' film is Liza Drake, whose story is the main focal point.Played by Blunt, Liza is a woman who has reached the lowest point in her life: she has no home, no money to support her ailing daughter, and, to top it all, she has just lost her job. For her, the position of sales representative at Zanna seems like an opportunity to radically change her life, and, from the very first moment, she devotes herself entirely to making the company succeed. Eventually, all her hard work pays off, and Zanna Therapeutics grows into a multi-million dollar company…until things start spiraling out of control.
As her daughter’s tumor worsens, Liza finally realizes the magnitude of her wrongdoings at Zanna, and decides to expose the corporation and everyone in it to the authorities, which ultimately lands her in jail as well. After serving her time, the woman decides to leave her criminal history in the past and to embark on a new venture selling her mother’s skincare products, an endeavor in which she also employs some of the sales reps she hired during her time at Zanna.
Although Liza Drake inPain Hustlersdoes not exist in real life, she is based on several people who, in one way or another, ended up working at Insys as sales reps: some very capable workers who, like Liza, had major financial problems and an overwhelming urge to improve their lives. Evans and Garcia’s characters, on the other hand, are fictionalized versions of Alec Burlakoff and John Kapoor, two of the major figures involved in the Insys criminal conspiracy.
