In Netflix’s “Pain Hustlers” Emily Blunt joins a pharmaceutical start-up and, after an initial flight of fancy, quickly finds herself in a world full of corruption and immorality. Is there a true story behind it?
“Pain Hustlers” centers on single high school dropout Liza Drake (Emily Blunt), who bounces from job to job dreaming of a better life for herself and her seriously ill daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman). While stripping for money in a nightclub, Liza meets pharmaceutical salesman Pete Brenner (Chris Evans). In a drunken state, he suggests that she apply for a job at a small start-up company he works for.
No sooner said than done. After the job initially appears to offer no long-term prospects but to be just another odd job, Liza manages to lead the company to unexpected success through her charm and initiative. However, the product she sells is a painkiller for cancer patients – and the ingredients are more than just controversial…
IS PAIN HUSTLERS BASED ON FACT?
For the thriller-satire “Pain Hustlers” from “Harry Potter” director David Yates, Netflix has put a whopping $50 million on the table in 2022. Whether the film (which we can’t exactly recommend to you), which should appeal to fans of “Dopesick” and “Painkiller,” will also be a success for the streaming service with the big red N remains to be seen. In any case, the story is pretty violent – and inspired by facts to boot!
“Pain Hustlers” is based on the New York Times article of the same name by Evan Hughes. In it, it’s all about a bribery case involving the Insys company. In 2019, a pharmaceutical representative named John Kapoor managed to win over an influential and respected medical professional to fuel sales of the painkiller “Subsys.” As Time reported, a program was also set up in which doctors were generously rewarded financially for circulating the drug to colleagues. Ultimately, Kapoor was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
It is important to note that “Pain Hustlers,” which is based not least on films such as “The Wolf Of Wall Street” and “The Big Short,” does not tell a completely true story, but is inspired by actual events. You can currently stream the film with a Netflix subscription.
