Dopesick is, in essence, a true crime documentary series (based on a nonfiction book by Beth Macy) masquerading as a prestige drama for the sake of getting in front of as many eyes as possible. The shport of it is that if a cross between HBO's Chernobyl and the big short sounds appealing to you, you should definitely watch it.
The first episode in particular, has fairly little going on in terms of personal drama, it merely sets the stage for the horrors to come.
in 1997 The Sackler family, owners of Purdue pharmaceuticals develop and sell an opiate based painkiller and start to market it to doctors as nonadictive. A country doctor in coal country sees patients dealing with severe chronic paint related to work injuries and starts prescribing the new "miracle" drug that will addict them and kill many of them.
this straightforward narrative is shaken up since, In parallel, we follow a team of US attorneys in virginia in 2002 opening an investigation into purdue - then a DEA detective in 1999.
This format sometimes gets confusing, points of view and storylines unfolding in parallel but at different times, but this narrative choice allows the onion of corporate malfeasance and deception to be peeled digestably and thoroughly.
The first episode as I said, merely sets the stage and that's because it's packed with information more than drama - and I was left at the end wondering if there would be any gas left in the tank for the remaining seven episodes - and their is quite a bit to make your blood boil and fill you with rage at the breadth and depth of corruption, but there's also more breathing room to humanize the crisis spearheaded by oxycontin.
But as a series, what is it worth? It is well directed, with the usual desaturated photography of serious prestige dramas, spiced up with interesting shots and carried by great performances, chiefly by michael keaton and kaitlin dever, the most up close and personal points of view on the addiction crisis - but also Michael stulhbarg, wonderfully off putting as Richard Sackler: sociopathic, insecure, utterly joyless.
However, the moments of humanity and the shiny drama exterior are mostly there to get us through the information of the case, which means most of the runtime is dedicated to talking heads in offices. In that regard, it isn't the aesthetic triumph of something like Chernobyl.
However, given that chernobyl happened nearly 40 years ago and "only" caused an estimated 16 000 deaths, while the opioid epidemic is still ongoing and might have killed north of 400 000 people, it's well worth getting through the information dumps of the show and learn to hate the sacklers.
My girlfriend works at retail pharmacies, and a patient recommended that she watch Dopesick. Also, I had a very close friend who OD'd because of his opiate addiction.
This show is a very good documentary about how Big Pharma, Purdue Pharma in particular, abused everyone in the world with their toxic marketing that led to the deaths of many good people. This show does a great job of being a drama mini-series that depicts a lot of perspectives of opiate abuse & addiction.
Perhaps I will read the book that this show is based on. I still have 1.5 episodes to complete with my gf.
RIP "R" (1978-2017), my dear friend. His father said, "He was poisoned," at his funeral. I will never forget this. I will always wish that I could have helped you more. This world was better with you in it. Damn Richard Sackler and folks like him.
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Hasturion
Dopesick is, in essence, a true crime documentary series (based on a nonfiction book by Beth Macy) masquerading as a prestige drama for the sake of getting in front of as many eyes as possible. The shport of it is that if a cross between HBO's Chernobyl and the big short sounds appealing to you, you should definitely watch it.The first episode in particular, has fairly little going on in terms of personal drama, it merely sets the stage for the horrors to come.
in 1997 The Sackler family, owners of Purdue pharmaceuticals develop and sell an opiate based painkiller and start to market it to doctors as nonadictive. A country doctor in coal country sees patients dealing with severe chronic paint related to work injuries and starts prescribing the new "miracle" drug that will addict them and kill many of them.
this straightforward narrative is shaken up since, In parallel, we follow a team of US attorneys in virginia in 2002 opening an investigation into purdue - then a DEA detective in 1999.
This format sometimes gets confusing, points of view and storylines unfolding in parallel but at different times, but this narrative choice allows the onion of corporate malfeasance and deception to be peeled digestably and thoroughly.
The first episode as I said, merely sets the stage and that's because it's packed with information more than drama - and I was left at the end wondering if there would be any gas left in the tank for the remaining seven episodes - and their is quite a bit to make your blood boil and fill you with rage at the breadth and depth of corruption, but there's also more breathing room to humanize the crisis spearheaded by oxycontin.
But as a series, what is it worth? It is well directed, with the usual desaturated photography of serious prestige dramas, spiced up with interesting shots and carried by great performances, chiefly by michael keaton and kaitlin dever, the most up close and personal points of view on the addiction crisis - but also Michael stulhbarg, wonderfully off putting as Richard Sackler: sociopathic, insecure, utterly joyless.
However, the moments of humanity and the shiny drama exterior are mostly there to get us through the information of the case, which means most of the runtime is dedicated to talking heads in offices. In that regard, it isn't the aesthetic triumph of something like Chernobyl.
However, given that chernobyl happened nearly 40 years ago and "only" caused an estimated 16 000 deaths, while the opioid epidemic is still ongoing and might have killed north of 400 000 people, it's well worth getting through the information dumps of the show and learn to hate the sacklers.
HebrewHammarMan
My girlfriend works at retail pharmacies, and a patient recommended that she watch Dopesick. Also, I had a very close friend who OD'd because of his opiate addiction.This show is a very good documentary about how Big Pharma, Purdue Pharma in particular, abused everyone in the world with their toxic marketing that led to the deaths of many good people. This show does a great job of being a drama mini-series that depicts a lot of perspectives of opiate abuse & addiction.
Perhaps I will read the book that this show is based on. I still have 1.5 episodes to complete with my gf.
RIP "R" (1978-2017), my dear friend. His father said, "He was poisoned," at his funeral. I will never forget this. I will always wish that I could have helped you more. This world was better with you in it. Damn Richard Sackler and folks like him.