“Crisis” promised a high-stakes tale of intertwining stories following characters touched by the escalating opioid epidemic and was inspired by true events. However, the film falls short on what’s promised.
“Crisis” follows three drastically different storylines. Armie Hammer plays Jake Kelly, an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent looking to bring down a major drug trafficking operation, while also tending to his sister Emmie’s addiction.
Evangeline Lilly plays a grieving mother and recovering addict, Claire, who looks for answers after her teenage son dies from an apparent yet mysterious overdose.
An independent plotline from the others shadows Dr. Tyrone Brower, a university professor played by Gary Oldman, who seeks to blow the whistle about a high-profile Big Pharma drug his department is being paid to test.
It’s not an understatement to say the film has a predictable plot. However, the ensemble cast of veteran actor Greg Kinnear and up-and-coming actress Lily-Rose Depp should’ve saved the movie from mediocrity, at least that was the hope.
Neither the cast nor the big production budget was enough to salvage the ho-hum feeling that was harder to shake than Emmie’s addiction.
The film starts at a fast pace but is stunted by writer and director Nicholas Jarecki’s choppy scene cuts. As each plotline is introduced, the viewer is left with unanswered questions.
Jake and a grieving Claire don’t cross paths until what seems like two shakes before the credits roll.
Dr. Brower’s storyline, on the other hand, is set far apart from the others and spared from intertwining with Jake and Claire.
His fight to expose the dangerous cover-up of a prescription drug carries the film and almost makes up for the weak spots in Jake and Claire’s journey.
For a story that was supposed to tell three intertwined plotlines, the connection was faint.
An argument can be made that Oldman’s acting carried the film. The rest of the cast, while talented in other works, seemed to be going through the motions.
Much of the dialogue felt forced. Unnecessary profanity and insulting punchlines, mostly by Jake and cookie-cutter cartel goons, were a disappointing distraction from the real issues they were trying to tackle.
Another questionable aspect of the film was its cast. Ensemble casts usually guarantee success or popularity like in “The Departed” or “Ocean’s Eleven.” However it doesn’t make much sense to see several major names appear in roles that are barely seen or heard in the story at all.
“Crisis” ran like a forced modge-podge of what many multiplot films try to be. Perhaps Jarecki spread the film too thin by trying to check off all the boxes he thought would ensure a foreseeable yet entertaining exposé.
In a slow two hours, the film was extremely predictable. After approaching a questionable and gentle climax with minutes left, the film’s resolution slid down a bunny slope into a soft ending.
If to stream or skip is the question, skip is more than likely the right answer.
