It feels like we’ve been waiting to check outPain Hustlersfor a long time: The movie started to get a buzz goingin early 2022. So far, however, we still haven’t seen a trailer. As Netflix gears up torelease the movie in theaters, we can finally start keeping an eye out for new information on the dark comedy movie. Today, the streamer released throughEntertainment Weeklysome images that showcase the incredible cast.
Pain Hustlerstells the story of two different individuals who found a way of profiting off the opioid crisis in America: Zanna Therapeutics sales rep Pete Brenner (Chris Evans) and Liza Drake (Emily Blunt) – a single mom with a keen eye for business who manages to land a job at the company when she proves her prowess to the team.
The new images reiterate the idea thatPain Hustlerswill dabble on cynicism and play up the characters’ charisma even though they’re horrible people. The cast also featuresAndy Garcia(Book Club: The Next Chapter) andCatherine O’Hara(Schitt’s Creek), both of whom can also be seen in the images. Garcia plays billionaire Jack Neel, the doctor who developed a new pain medication that Zanna Therapeutics is trying to popularize in the market. O’Hara plays Jackie, Blunt’s character’s mother – a woman who also eventually ends up becoming a sales rep.
David Yates Wanted a Break FromHarry PotterUniverse
Pain Hustlersis directed byDavid Yates, who’s coming back for a dose of realism after spending the better part of the last 15 years in theHarry PotterandFantastic Beastsuniverses. In an interview toEW, Yates talked about the change in gears and mentioned that obviously he “spent such a long time on green-screen studios” that he decided to go back to his roots as a filmmaker:
“So the beauty of ‘Pain Hustlers’ for me was to come back to those roots, to come back to where the most exciting thing in a scene is an authentic moment between two actors rather than a big special effect. It was a welcome return to doing things that I’d done a lot of previous to entering the ‘Harry Potter’ world.”
Pain Hustlerswill be the third high-profile title released about America’s opioid crisis: In the last couple of years we’ve seen Hulu seriesDopesickand Netflix miniseriesPainkiller. The movie is based on the bookPain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startupby authorEvan Hughes.
Pain Hustlerswill have a limited theatrical release starting on October 20, followed by a Netflix premiere a week later on October 27. Check out the images below:
