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Body Brokers
For those who like to think that the war on drugs and addiction is one that can be won over with treatment might want to take a look at 2021's Body Brokers, a slick but deeply disturbing, fact-based drama that takes the bold and unabashed stance that the concept of treatment and rehabilitation in this country is becoming one big, ugly sting operation, leaving a lot of bodies in its wake.
Utah and Opal are a pair of heroine addicts who have been stealing and prostituting themselves for years to support their habit. They meet a slick talking stranger named Wood who convinces Utah that he wants to get clean and offers him a chance to change his life by getting him a bed at a rehab center in Los Angeles. Before he realizes it, Utah finds himself a mule in an elaborate hustle which includes paying so called recovered addicts for referring new clients and surgically implanting drugs inside junkies for insane amounts of money.
Do not confuse the above-referenced phrase, "fact-based". What I suspect that director and screenwriter John Schwab has done is construct a fictional story based on statistics and research on the subject of rehabilitation that cannot be explained away and the story presented here is Schwab's possible theory based on the research.
Anyone who has any experience with addiction and rehabilitation will see the subtle yet glaring clues that let the viewer know right away that the New Way Recovery Center is not what it purports to be...Utah's initial intake only takes a few minutes and the girl who does the intake also does his physical, which would never happen at a real rehab facility. Suspicion is also raised when the residential counselor (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) feigns concern about Utah leaving treatment after 30 days. Sadly, legitimate treatment ends when the addict's insurance ends, no matter where they are in treatment. But when we see Opal show up and Utah receive cash for the referral, the jig is definitely up. I also wasn't thrilled the way this story made Utah look dumb as a box of rocks. Addicts are a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.
Not since the 2013 film Compliance have I experienced a film that aroused such anger in me. We've been told for years that treatment and rehabilitation are the answer to the war on addiction and the idea that treatment is just a big hustle offers little hope in this battle we continue to lose. The film's epilogue does remind the viewer that millions get sober through 12 step programs, which cost nothing, but this is the message that should have been center stage here. And can't deny that the ending just made my heart sink.
Schwab's in your face direction is a plus and there are solid performances by Jack Kilmer as Utah, Michael Kenneth Williams as Wood, and an especially slimy turn from Frank Grillo as the New Way CEO, which rivals his slimy bad guy in Black and Blue. Sadly, the subject matter here is so disturbing, that my anger for what is presented here made it hard to be objective regarding the film's entertainment value.
For those who like to think that the war on drugs and addiction is one that can be won over with treatment might want to take a look at 2021's Body Brokers, a slick but deeply disturbing, fact-based drama that takes the bold and unabashed stance that the concept of treatment and rehabilitation in this country is becoming one big, ugly sting operation, leaving a lot of bodies in its wake.
Utah and Opal are a pair of heroine addicts who have been stealing and prostituting themselves for years to support their habit. They meet a slick talking stranger named Wood who convinces Utah that he wants to get clean and offers him a chance to change his life by getting him a bed at a rehab center in Los Angeles. Before he realizes it, Utah finds himself a mule in an elaborate hustle which includes paying so called recovered addicts for referring new clients and surgically implanting drugs inside junkies for insane amounts of money.
Do not confuse the above-referenced phrase, "fact-based". What I suspect that director and screenwriter John Schwab has done is construct a fictional story based on statistics and research on the subject of rehabilitation that cannot be explained away and the story presented here is Schwab's possible theory based on the research.
Anyone who has any experience with addiction and rehabilitation will see the subtle yet glaring clues that let the viewer know right away that the New Way Recovery Center is not what it purports to be...Utah's initial intake only takes a few minutes and the girl who does the intake also does his physical, which would never happen at a real rehab facility. Suspicion is also raised when the residential counselor (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) feigns concern about Utah leaving treatment after 30 days. Sadly, legitimate treatment ends when the addict's insurance ends, no matter where they are in treatment. But when we see Opal show up and Utah receive cash for the referral, the jig is definitely up. I also wasn't thrilled the way this story made Utah look dumb as a box of rocks. Addicts are a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.
Not since the 2013 film Compliance have I experienced a film that aroused such anger in me. We've been told for years that treatment and rehabilitation are the answer to the war on addiction and the idea that treatment is just a big hustle offers little hope in this battle we continue to lose. The film's epilogue does remind the viewer that millions get sober through 12 step programs, which cost nothing, but this is the message that should have been center stage here. And can't deny that the ending just made my heart sink.
Schwab's in your face direction is a plus and there are solid performances by Jack Kilmer as Utah, Michael Kenneth Williams as Wood, and an especially slimy turn from Frank Grillo as the New Way CEO, which rivals his slimy bad guy in Black and Blue. Sadly, the subject matter here is so disturbing, that my anger for what is presented here made it hard to be objective regarding the film's entertainment value.