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Painkiller

51 replies

WilkinsonM · 11/08/2023 16:15

Anyone watching? It's really good. About the OxyContin scandal in the states. Uzo Aduba is excellent.

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Lionoso · 11/08/2023 17:12

I'm put off watching it as I have seen Dopesick on Disney Plus, which was amazing. They are both about the oxycontin scandal which is a pretty depressing subject and I'm not sure if I want to watch a second show on the same thing. Do they tackle different sides of the same story? I wasn't sure from the trailer of it.

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WilkinsonM · 11/08/2023 17:47

I haven't seen dopesick so I'm not sure

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SayingwhatIreallythink · 12/08/2023 10:05

I’ve just finished watching it. Bizarre to hear the scandal being mentioned in the news on the same day.

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 12/08/2023 22:48

I've just finished it and thought it was really good although shocking and (depressingly) not shocking at the same time.

Greed and capitalism at its finest 😕

SpringIntoChaos · 13/08/2023 16:28

It's so emotive...and such an eye opener 😢

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 13/08/2023 22:42

What was the fire alarm battery going off about? Was it meant to be a metaphor for something?

I didn't really understand that.

viques · 14/08/2023 00:15

Just finished . Watched Dopesick and thought it was brilliant and think this stands up quite well against it. Excellent lead performances, Uduba is mesmerising, and Broderick is cringingly good as Sackler. It comes at the story from a slightly different angle than Dopesick but is also very effective.

I think if I was going to watch both I would watch Dopesick first as it shows the insidious and cynical way the Sackler drug company Purdue, deliberately targeted poor communities, Painkiller assumes quite a lot of existing knowledge of how they did this which I certainly wasn’t aware of pre watching Dopesick.

it is a devastating indictment of the drug industry. I have to say I was always a bit “oh yeah?” When I heard of yet another celebrity being in rehab for “addiction to painkillers” , but now I understand how easily this could happen to anyone, because that possibility was always built into the system.

elm26 · 14/08/2023 00:18

Just wondering where I can watch this 😊

viques · 14/08/2023 00:30

Both on Netflix

jd88123 · 14/08/2023 00:33

I have the same question about the smoke alarm!? That was really annoying!

TicketyBoo11 · 14/08/2023 01:16

Crime of the Century on Sky Docs for the factual account of the scandal. 3+ hours, absolutely riveting. Appalling state of affairs. The Sackler family have now been denied protection after squirrelling away most of their
money and declaring bankruptcy.

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 14/08/2023 08:25

viques · 14/08/2023 00:15

Just finished . Watched Dopesick and thought it was brilliant and think this stands up quite well against it. Excellent lead performances, Uduba is mesmerising, and Broderick is cringingly good as Sackler. It comes at the story from a slightly different angle than Dopesick but is also very effective.

I think if I was going to watch both I would watch Dopesick first as it shows the insidious and cynical way the Sackler drug company Purdue, deliberately targeted poor communities, Painkiller assumes quite a lot of existing knowledge of how they did this which I certainly wasn’t aware of pre watching Dopesick.

it is a devastating indictment of the drug industry. I have to say I was always a bit “oh yeah?” When I heard of yet another celebrity being in rehab for “addiction to painkillers” , but now I understand how easily this could happen to anyone, because that possibility was always built into the system.

I agree re how easy it is for anyone to become an addict. The mechanic didn't set off to become an addict, very ordinary bloke, family oriented but give him heroin/OxyContin and he completely changed.

So sad and absolutely disgusting that no one was truly held accountable for the scandal - the whole family should be in jail.

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WilkinsonM · 14/08/2023 08:27

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 14/08/2023 08:25

I agree re how easy it is for anyone to become an addict. The mechanic didn't set off to become an addict, very ordinary bloke, family oriented but give him heroin/OxyContin and he completely changed.

So sad and absolutely disgusting that no one was truly held accountable for the scandal - the whole family should be in jail.

Show quote history

Yes and he was lied to and manipulated to go on a bigger and bigger dose, whilst being told it wasn’t addictive. Unbelievable.

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viques · 14/08/2023 09:59

Another interesting documentary about the Sacklers is All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about the artist Nan Goldin and her campaign to get museums and galleries to remove the Sackler name. Widely streamed. Shows really positive activism at work.

FunkyMonks · 14/08/2023 10:06

Just binge watched it over two days was really good enjoyed it shocking and frightening how they were allowed to get away with it for so long really sad to see those that were affected by it the damage it had caused to loved ones left behind.

The only thing that bugged me was the smoke alarm noise was that symbolic of him being a mad man coupled in with seeing his dead relative 🤷‍♀️.

Really good though now want to see dope sick on Disney didn't realise that was about the same thing hasn't bothered to watch it but may give that a go now.

Jewel1968 · 14/08/2023 10:14

I think I preferred Dopesick for really showing addiction. Netflix Painkiller is good too but for some reason I don't think it packed as emotional a punch.

I have at times been prescribed very strong painkillers (codeine based) and was very aware how likely it would have been that I would have been prescribed oxy if it was licensed here. That made both dramas very real to me.

magicstar1 · 14/08/2023 10:17

I saw Dopesick and thought it was brilliant, so I’ll have to try this now.
I have a friend who used to live in America. He injured his back and ended up addicted to OxyContin. He said it was freely prescribed and it took him a long time to get off it. Even now, if he has any injuries, painkillers don’t touch it, as he still has such a high tolerance.

RockGirl · 14/08/2023 10:41

I enjoyed it, and I don't normally like darker dramas such as this. I especially liked the soundtrack.

I'm thinking the alarm is maybe signifying the silent screams of all the addicts.

Naimee87 · 14/08/2023 10:53

Definitely preferred dopesick in terms of the acting it was way more gripping than Painkiller. I agree with a PP that although it was good it didn’t pull me in as much as dopesick. I actually thought Broderick was absolutely rubbish as Sackler but perhaps i’m bias comparing him to Stuhlbarg who was just brilliant. Maybe it depends which you watch first, would love to hear opinions from those who are now watching dopesick after having watched painkiller. Its shocking what went on across all the organisations the sheer corruption involved as well…

wickermum · 14/08/2023 15:25

I've just started watching it. I couldn't understand the smoke alarm bit either!

I've read Matthew Perry's autobiography and his addiction to painkillers was insane. Like someone else said the tolerance people build up is massive.

I would also be one of those people who got addicted if I was in the states I think.

I've had back pain and taken tramadol for it. But it's really well regulated.

I work on a pain team now and the shift away from medication makes so much sense.

TheSkull · 14/08/2023 15:36

I watched it at the weekend and it was a real eye -opener but I did think that although the pills were overprescribed and the Purdue partying etc was vulgar and built on the misery of others why did people crush the pills and snort them? That wasn’t their intended purpose was it. Was it to get the drug into your body in a different way and what was the experience. I think I might be naive…

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WilkinsonM · 14/08/2023 16:07

They snorted it at the party to enjoy the high recreationally. It takes about an hour to feel the effects of a pill and snorting is a quick intense rush. The party was just people seeing an opportunity to get off their box for free/cheap, whereas the addicts were snorting it because rattling for opiates is extremely painful and when you get some you want it in your system as quickly as possible.

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TheSkull · 14/08/2023 16:15

Aah I gotcha. Thank you

viques · 15/08/2023 12:02

TheSkull · 14/08/2023 15:36

I watched it at the weekend and it was a real eye -opener but I did think that although the pills were overprescribed and the Purdue partying etc was vulgar and built on the misery of others why did people crush the pills and snort them? That wasn’t their intended purpose was it. Was it to get the drug into your body in a different way and what was the experience. I think I might be naive…

In Dopesick they explained that one of the reasons they crushed and snorted was the fact that Purdue had coated the pills in a slow release formula as part of their claim that the Oxy users didn’t get addicted because the pain killing effect of the drug was released slowly so would “not be attractive to drug addicts” and you only had to take them twice a day. Rubbing off the outside coating and crushing the tablets meant the slow release effect didn’t work. And of course as the drugs were manufactured in increasingly greater strengths they became even more attractive to people both using them for pain relief and to addicts who wanted to get high. The whole Purdue sales strategy was deliberately skewed to increase demand.

TheSkull · 15/08/2023 12:15

A true tale of greed. I think the constant ringing/bleeping was in the bloke’s head as he’d driven himself demented trying to keep hold of the wealth (which was frankly obscene) and built on misery