Crisis Parent Guide

The world of prescription opiates is complex and many-layered. At street level, recovering addict Claire Reimann (Evangeline Lily) is forced to take a deep look at international opiate smuggling after her son (Billy Bryk) is found dead of what the police claim to be an accidental overdose. On a law enforcement level, undercover DEA agent Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer) has been working with a variety of smugglers and dealers to make some high level busts – while managing his sister (Lily-Rose Depp), a self-destructive addict. On the production level, university researcher Dr. Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman) struggles with his conscience after learning through his studies that a new opiate which claims to be addiction-resistant is not, in fact, resistant. Worse still, it has a long-term addiction profile far more dangerous than some existing prescriptions. But the pharmaceutical company producing the drug is also one of the largest sources of funding for his department, and there would be a price to pay were he to speak out As their stories play out, it becomes clear to each of them that this problem is far larger than any single issue or perspective.

Ironically, despite the urgency and lethality of the opiate epidemic, the biggest problem with Crisis is boredom. Yes, the opiate crisis is a huge and complicated issue, and the consequences are disastrous. Unfortunately, it is a crisis with a heavy bureaucratic aspect, and there’s almost no way to make the ins and outs of university administration and corporate non-disclosure exciting. The filmmakers have tried to compensate with a more intriguing organized crime plotline, but this is still a two-hour long movie in three parts, and the multiple stories make it feel even longer.

The other issue is Armie Hammer. For those of you who are mercifully ignorant, I advise you to skip this paragraph; ignorance really is bliss. Trust me, you don’t want to know. For the rest of us who are aware of some of his…personal predilections, watching him on screen is increasingly uncomfortable. As with most actors facing allegations of sexualized misbehaviour, whether or not you watch this is going to depend largely on either how much you care or on how willing you are to compartmentalize that knowledge for at least two hours. For me, it’s like the Ghost Of Perversions Past every time I see him on screen, so that was less than pleasant. If you’re a parent trying to decide if you should let your teen watch this, Armie Hammer isn’t the only issue. I imagine the constant profanity, intravenous drug use, and bloody violence will be bigger concerns.

Big issue movies like Crisis typically suffer from the same set of problems. If they focus in on one story, they miss out larger structural issues. If they focus on big structural problems, they have a tendency to drag. If they try and mix-and-match, they tend to lose focus and excitement. If you’re passionate about the opioid crisis personally then you may find this compelling, but I think for most audiences it’s just going to be a slow two hours.