Early last year, it was announced that Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer and Evangeline Lily would be starring in a thriller from director Nicholas Jarecki (Arbitrage). The film was described as the first to tackle the ongoing opioid crisis.
The film has since been shot, and now has finally found distribution. Quiver Distribution has secured the U.S. rights to the film, and plans to release it theatrically on February 26, 2021, with a digital and on-demand release coming on March 5th. The film was previously titled Dreamland, but is now going by the simpler name, Crisis.
Three stories about the opioid world collide within the film: a drug trafficker arranges a smuggling operation between Canada and the U.S. with multiple cartels, an architect with addiction problems tracks down the truth behind her son’s involvement with narcotics, and a university professor battles unexpected revelations about his research employer – a drug company with deep government influence.
Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans and Lily-Rose Depp also have roles within an impressively deep ensemble.
Jarecki said in a statement:
“The devastating impact of the opioid epidemic reaches all corners of society. Each day brings a new revelation about what corporations, traffickers, and governments knew about the madness all along. I’m grateful to our outstanding cast whose nuanced performances put a human face on this urgent problem that needs our attention now”.
With COVID-19 cases rising around the world and many cinemas closed or partially open at best, a film about another depressing epidemic doesn’t exactly sound like the thing that will draw big audiences back to the silver screen. It seems Quiver have somewhat realised that since the on-demand release is so soon after the theatrical one.
But we’ll see how Crisis performs, and what kind of reception it gets. That strong cast should at least draw some people in.
#Peace.Love.Crisis
