Armie Hammer, Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lilly Tackle the Opioid Epidemic in Crisis : Watch the Trailer
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The opioid epidemic is at the center of Gary Oldman and Armie Hammer's thriller Crisis.
The movie follows Oldman, Hammer and Evangeline Lilly from three different points of view: Oldman is a scientist trying to get the truth out about the next dangerous drug, Hammer is an undercover DEA agent trying to take down the illicit drug trade from within, while Lilly is a desperate mother searching for her son who fell victim to the crisis.
"We wanted to bring awareness to the opioid topic without being preachy," director Nicholas Jarecki told Entertainment Weekly. "It's a thrilling ride, but you get to work not only your gut but your brain and your heart too. We try to go deeper with the characters and really get into the emotion. When you build out the character more, it's not just about the explosion — and that's what takes you on the journey."
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Focus Features and Comcast/NBC Universal; Christopher Polk/Getty; George Pimentel/Getty
The Arbitrage director also said the converging storylines is one of his favorite forms of storytelling.
"I always like these films that have multiple stories going on; the films of high and low," Jarecki told EW. "Here, we look at the opioid issue all the way from the billionaires who control the pharmaceutical companies with their private jets and their mansions, down to the drug traffickers and smugglers, and also those directly affected by the opioids; users, addicts, and people with family in trouble. This crisis crosses all walks of life. Addiction doesn't discriminate. It's hitting like a category five hurricane, everywhere and it continues to hit."
This will mark Hammer's first project since exiting his planned action-comedy Shotgun Wedding after alleged graphic social media messages detailing his private life were leaked.
Crisis hits theaters February 26 and digital March 5.
