Crisis

Writer/director Nicholas Jarecki takes a Crash-like approach to the opioid epidemic in Crisis — a logical game plan, considering the important issue’s numerous facets, but one that plays out somewhat hyperbolic in his hands.

Set primarily in a Detroit that looks so chilly you’ll want to grab a blanket, the film tracks (to varying degrees of success) an undercover DEA agent (Armie Hammer), a university professor (Gary Oldman) willing to risk his career and reputation to stop a deadly painkiller from hitting the market, and a newly sober architect (Evangeline Lilly) who turns vigilante after her son gets swept up in the chain of events.

Their intertwined paths loop in colleagues and adversaries played by Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, and Martin Donovan, all of whom are so morose that they make Oldman’s hammy, street preacher activism a welcome respite simply for his outlier energy.

While the inevitable intersection of most of the characters’ arcs may be apt to the real-life social issues’ links, the convergence blunts their individual impacts and turns what frequently feel like relatable humans into mere plot devices.

Well-made throughout, Crisis occasionally shows flashes of brilliance reminiscent of Jarecki’s 2012 debut Arbitrage, but with so many messages working their way through his mouthpieces this go-round, he often loses sight of the qualities that made his previous film such a phenomenal experience.

Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming services, and also playing at the Carolina Cinemark

(Photo: Quiver Distribution)