Indie film upstart Quiver Distribution has acquired the U.S. rights to Nicholas Jarecki’s dramatic thriller Crisis. The film’s all-star cast is led by Mank star Gary Oldman, Call Me by Your Name’s Armie Hammer, Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Evangeline Lilly. The cast also includes Little Miss Sunshine’s Greg Kinnear, Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez, Dracula Untold actor Luke Evans, The King’s Lily-Rose Depp and rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi. 

With Crisis planning to release February 26, 2020, it will be eligible for this upcoming awards season. Jarecki’s thriller hopes to do for the opioid crisis what Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 crime drama Traffic did for cocaine and the war on drugs during the crack scourge. 

“The devastating impact of the opioid epidemic reaches all corners of society,” said Jarecki. “Each day brings a new revelation about what corporations, traffickers, and governments knew about the madness all along. I’m grateful to our outstanding cast whose nuanced performances put a human face on this urgent problem that needs our attention now.” 

The film tells series of interwoven story lines. One story line follows a drug trafficker arranging a multi-cartel smuggling operation. Another follows an architect recovering from an Oxycodone addiction as she tracks down the truth behind her son’s disappearance, and the final storyline centers around a university professor battling unexpected revelations about his employer, a pharmaceutical company bringing a new “non-addictive” painkiller to market. 

“Nick brought his brilliant script to life in this topical and highly entertaining film,” said Quiver co-presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. “His look at the international drug war through the prism of profiteers, law enforcement, and all those caught in between is a powerful, thrilling story that we’re proud to bring to audiences.” 

Jarecki’s last film, Arbitrage, received praise from critics back in 2012. Richard Gere starred in the thriller, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.