When it comes to the story of addiction, it falls into this same cliched pattern. Our protagonist is recovering from some kinds of substance abuse. They are struggling to stay clean, but they put one foot in front of the other in their journey through sobriety. However, tragedy strikes which in a moment of weakness, they relapse. In a substance fueled spiral, they violently lash out at family and friends to get what they want. Eventually, they are either arrested or forcibly placed into rehab, where they are forced to look at what their addiction has not only done to them, but everyone around them. It’s a story that is universal for everyone who struggles with substance abuse. However, Hollywood has a tendency to lean more towards the sensationalization of beating addiction rather than the everyday struggles. In Adam Meek’s directorial debut, Union County, he puts the authenticity back into this genre by delivering a quiet, yet authentic tale of sobriety in rural Ohio.
Cody Parsons (Will Poulter, Warfare) is a recovering opioid addict in rural Ohio. Given a second chance, he is assigned to a county-mandated drug court program. His daily routine consists of working at a lumber mill, drug tests, court meetings, and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. It is a supportive yet strict routine. But his journey will be tenuous and difficult as he lives in the heart of the opioid epidemic.
While Union County follows the familiar routine for substance abuse dramas, Adam Meek’s direction gives it a renewed sense of purpose. Rather than leaning into the heightened emotions typically associated with stories of recovery, the film takes a step back, opting for something quieter and more patient. By centering on the daily grid of addiction and the small victories, Union County builds an uncommonly authentic portrait of the long road to sobriety. The camerawork is unobtrusive yet intimate, documentary-like in its distance. As if we are observing these recovering addicts without intrusion.
Anchored by Will Polter and a supporting cast largely made up of real participants in this program, the film approaches its characters with genuine empathy. In a genre that has a long history of demonizing addicts and focusing on the spectacle of recovery, it’s refreshing to see a film that treats addiction with such compassion. There is no judgement found in this film. Only a desire to listen and share these stories as they are. Polter, leaning into restraint over a showy performance, delivers a quietly devastating performance as a man perpetually on the edge of relapse. For the non-actors, their reflections on sobriety carry a weight no script could replicate. These moments are not coming from a script, but from their own lived experiences that never feels manufactured.
Every year at the Sundance Film Festival, there is always a drama that turns its attention to the dark and often overlooked corners of the United States. Whether its stories center on the myth of the American Dream or the simple acts of survival, it is uplifting to see a film take this dark underbelly and show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. At its heart, Union County is an empathetic and uplifting story about overcoming addiction. While the film doesn’t dive fully into the nastiness of addiction, there is enough heart and emotional sincerity that makes you overlook it. In choosing compassion over despair, Union County becomes the kind of story that we need today in a world gone mad.
My Rating: B
Union County is currently seeking US distribution.
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