Hazard

by Mike McGranaghan

Movies that attempt to address the drug problem in America tend to rely on the same plot points. Someone will overdose, someone else will die, there’s usually a kid involved, and so on. The indie drama Hazard doesn’t reinvent the wheel in that regard. Writer/director Eddie Mensore does, however, bring a geographic spin to the formula, looking specifically at the opioid problem in Appalachia. That gives the film a specificity that’s captivating, even when the plot itself is familiar.

Will (Alex Roe) is both a user and a dealer. His wife Sara (Smile’s Sosie Bacon) has kicked him out of the house until he gets clean, as she has. They share a young son he desperately wants to spend more time with. Will’s addiction is intense. When he’s not shooting up his pain-addled coal miner father (Steven Ogg), he’s either selling Oxycodone pills to teenage girls or drugging himself into a stupor. Meanwhile, Sara’s cop brother John (Dave Davis) looks to clean up the town by busting the major suppliers.

It's a cliché to say that a location becomes a character in a movie; that said, Appalachia really does become a character in Hazard. Buildings look rundown or are boarded up. Poverty has clearly taken a toll. Hazard’s citizens have the haggard look of people trapped in a remote, dying town with few opportunities. The film shows how opioids have a pernicious effect in a place like this, offering a temporary solution to various problems while simultaneously creating a full-fledged problem of their own.

The specifics of the plot will be recognizable to any viewer who has ever seen an addiction movie. At times, it’s poignant, as when Will’s father, screaming in agonizing pain, begs his son for drugs. Other times, it’s a bit manufactured, as in the scene showing a doctor who sits in a downtown store front, writing bogus prescriptions for the paying addicts lined up on the street. The best moments are the ones between Will and Sara, as they try to figure out their relationship amid two different states of sobriety.

In fact, the performances are the main reason to see Hazard. Alex Roe authentically captures the distracted energy of an opioid addict who can only focus on anything for a certain amount of time before a craving for the drug hits. The actor also makes Will a fully fleshed-out character we care about, as opposed to the one-dimensional scumbag he could have come off as. Sosie Bacon brings a wounded quality to Sara, showing how she’s stared into the abyss and fears her husband will inadvertently drag her right back to it. Together, the stars create a portrait of addiction and codependency that’s heartbreaking.

Hazard absolutely gets you thinking about the toll opioids take on a community, especially one that’s already dealing with economic despair. It’s a well-intentioned picture, bolstered by two very strong central performances.

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