What Is the Story About?
Pain Hustlers follows a High school dropout bankrupt single mother – Liza Drake, who lands a job in a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida, despite years of struggling to make ends meet. She drags the company out of pitfalls and rises in her career only for her to find herself caught amidst a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences.
Performances?
Emily Blunt is at the centre of all proceedings in Pain Hustlers. The British actress aces the American accent, the doting mother and daughter parts and also the super ambitious pain-hustler who rises up in her career pouncing upon the pain of other people, quite unintentionally. Her dramatic portions are a treat to watch, just like her charming girlboss parts in the first half. In fact, the film is too dependent on the actor that it becomes visibly overbearing.
Analysis
Directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by Wells Tower, Pain Hustlers is an adaptation of a book that goes by the same name written by Evan Hughes. A rags to riches story that takes an overturn all of a sudden, is based on corporate greed and the opioid crisis that shook the country.
Pain Hustlers starts off with establishing Liza Drake’s life. A woman at the edge of her life, bankrupt, school-drop out and now a single doting mother and daughter who would do anything to get her life back on track. We are shown how helpless she is. She meets a medical rep (in guise) who gets her a job in a pharma company seeing her zeal.
The duo takes the company to heights (how predictable!) and Liza climbs the ladder to success in light’s speed. Little does she know that she was helping a fentanyl peddling company that was making money on the miseries of lakhs of people. Liza, a single mother to a sick daughter who gets frequent seizures was under the assumption that she was indirectly helping sick people. Once the curtains are off, she puts herself on a dramatic mission to save the day!
Despite having a packed star-cast, Pain Hustlers criminally under-uses all of them. Except for Emily Blunt, nobody really gets metal to deliver. Not only is Pain Hustlers tone-deaf, it’s also all over the place as a film. The narrative inconsistencies, voice-overs and random non-linear story telling hits multiple nerves when the story-telling itself isn’t any compelling.
The source-material however is more thrilling and compelling and the premise is as relevant as ever. Emily Blunt shines wherever she could and makes for a solid reason that would force people to watch the film. Otherwise, Pain Hustlers is plainly forgettable.
Concisely, Pain Hustlers is a story of hustle culture, greed and corporate malice that bases itself on the pain of people. There are multiple shows and movies that talk about drug crisis, like Narcos, Painkiller or Dopesick. All of them enforced on who the bad guy really is without sympathising with the hustlers who ‘happen to be caught in the cobweb’. Pain Hustlers on the other hand misses the narrative as it tries to have a central character who rises from the pain of people.
Other Artists?
Pain Hustlers has a strong cast. But, the film’s narrative inconsistency and flawed execution leave most of them with barely any material to perform.
Chris Evans is just okay as Pete Brenner. His scenes with Emily are fun, but the actor doesn’t command any attention or influence in the film as such even when he’s supposed to be ‘evil’.
Catherine O’Hara plays Liza’s mother. She is an unstoppable actor and unfortunately for her stature, she isn’t given a respectable part to play. However, she tries to make best use of whatever she is given.
Music and Other Departments?
George Richmond’s camera captures Florida with perfection but that’s about it. Music from James Newton Howard and Michael Dean Parsons doesn’t add anything significant to the story or narrative. For a film that’s based on a story this important, Yates’ direction is very much out of place.
Highlights?
The Core real Story
Emily Blunt
World Building
Drawbacks?
Underused star-cast
Bland story telling
Direction
Tonal Shifts
Narrative voiceover
Lack of Moral Nuance
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, but only in very few parts.
Will You Recommend It?
Not really.
Pain Hustlers Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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