Bringing the ‘Pain’: Two New Trailers Deliver Films About Life’s Highs and Lows in Very Different Realms
Two new movies promise to bring the pain – and the cure.
First, A24 dropped the first trailer for the Zac Efron vehicle The Iron Claw, about four brothers who were professional wrestlers detailing the highs – and lows – of their reign in the ring in the ’70s and ’80s.
Efron, along with Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson play brothers Kevin, Kerry and David von Erich in the true story of the family of pro wrestlers that dominated the sport for decades, but endured so many personal tragedies that fans spoke of a Von Erich Curse haunting the family.
The trailer, which features period-perfect needle-drops by Blue Oyster Cult (“Don’t Fear the Reaper”) and Rush (“Tom Sawyer”), show a very muscled Efron, White and Dickinson triple-teaming their opponents during bouts, as well as alluding to the tragedy that would befall the brothers.
The Iron Claw also stars Holt McCallany as Fritz von Erich, Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, Maura Tierney as Doris and Lily James as Kevin’s wife, Pam. The Iron Claw is written and directed by Sean Durkin and opens in theaters on December 22nd.
As for the cure, that comes from the new Netflix offering Pain Hustlers, starring Chris Evans and Emily Blunt.
They play pharmaceutical hucksters, who shill their medicinal wares by calling on doctors offices, reaping a hefty commission on sales. Blunt plays Liza Drake, who is newly jobless and hoping to improve her financial situation and help her sick daughter (Chloe Colman). She meets Evans’ Pete Brenner for a job interview and convinces him to give her a sales position at his pharma company, run by Jack Neel (Andy Garcia).
Liza has the knack for it and is soon successful enough to begin recruiting her own employees. But as she and Pete rake in ever more money, the efficacy of the drug comes into question and FBI arrives to investigate, leaving Liza to question whether she is doing the right thing morally.
Pain Hustlers also stars Catherine O’Hara, Jay Duplass, Brian d’Arcy James, Amit Shah, Aubrey Dollar, and Willie Raysor.
Pain Hustlers is directed by David Yates, who directed the final four Harry Potter films and the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs. Screenwriter Wells Tower wrote the movie’s screenplay, based on Evan Hughes’s article in the New York Times Magazine, “Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup” and subsequent book, The Hard Sell.
The movie opens in select theaters on October 20th, then will stream on Netflix beginning October 27th.