![]() But because of the way those scenes are stitched together, that impact sometimes gets muffled by the sprawling fabric of the whole. Samuel Finnix (Michael Keaton), a doctor who works in a small mining town in Virginia, and Betsy Mallum (Kaitlyn Dever), a miner and a patient of Finnix’s who gets hooked on Oxy - often have real impact. Individual scenes that focus on those supporting players - particularly those that involve Dr. In Dopesick, Ox圜ontin functions like the unspoken protagonist, with all the characters serving as supporting players in its origin story. But its vastness eventually becomes its Achilles’ heel.Ĭreated by Danny Strong, who wrote and directed multiple episodes, Dopesick tries to address so many aspects of the rise of Ox圜ontin that it becomes unwieldy at times, exacerbated by its tendency to hopscotch between time periods - a ticker on the screen is constantly reminding us whether it’s 1999, 2003, or some other year. ![]() Hulu’s Dopesick, a new limited series based on Beth Macy’s book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, attempts to dig into all of it, with often moving results. ![]() The saga of the opioid crisis in this country, the how and why behind the pharmaceutical epidemic that tore through American communities and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, is a huge narrative. Samuel Finnix (Michael Keaton) is a key player in one of Dopesick’s more successful narrative threads. Both of which are essentially just REPLACEMENT drugs which have somehow managed to become acceptable 'treatments' for addicts, when it's really just substituting one drug for another one, that as the Doctor finds, is STILL classified as a narcotic, and which can be even MORE difficult to quit than heroin, and with often cause worse and longer withdrawls.Īnd what was the exact deal with the Doctor not being allowed to get his medical license reinstated if he's still on a methadone/soboxone 'maintenance' program? For instance in the HOUSE M.D.Dr. I know they tried using that 'date slider' graphic, but it's sometimes hard to interperet.Īnd I do like how they touch on the topic of Methadone/Suboxone. I just wish the show would clarify the time jumps, as I'm often confused about the actual sequence of events. But it is worth a viewing - it’s on HULU.Īs far as I know, this is the release schedule. I had no idea the FDA granted this pharmaceutical company a “special label” exonerating them of their culpability when it came to their drug’s addictiveness. Poulter is a sales rep and Dawson is one of the higher-ups at the FDA. He’s still his almost-wooden self (not a jab I love his work), so the slight humor injected in his early scenes softens his image. Skarsgaard plays a law enforcement officer. Keaton brings humanity to the many faceless physicians who impressed upon their patients the non-addictive nature and effectiveness of the drug. Stuhlbarg plays a villain who you’re almost rooting for objectively, but is actually evil when you think of his involvement in the promotion of the deadly drug. Dever’s character work is figuratively and literally strong - I am drawn to the idea of seeing this strong, brave character >! (a lesbian in miner country) !< deal with a crippling addiction, and I have never seen Dever play a character who was truly broken down by their circumstances. ![]() Even in its first episode, it offers a peak into the scheming and desperation that went into the indoctrination of sales reps, the misguided participation (collusion) of the FDA, and misled victims of the infamous opioid.Īs a series, this show works on the strength of acting and narrative. This series is the dramatization of the rise of Ox圜ontin. I’m only one episode in, so there won’t be too many spoilers. Starring: Peter Saarsgard, Kaitlyn Dever, Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Will Poulter R/television's favorite shows of all time (2022 edition) >!Spoiler!!Television!< becomes Television Links
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