“I didn’t perceive what I used to be doing anymore.”
That is what director Benjamin Flaherty says, through voice-over, two-thirds of the way in which into his documentary “Shuffle.” It’s not typically you hear a filmmaker admit that he misplaced the plot of his personal movie as he was filming it. I used to be relieved when he mentioned that, since I additionally didn’t perceive what he was doing anymore—and type of felt like a dick about it.
In “Shuffle,” Flaherty goes into investigative mode, getting deep into our dependancy remedy business, which is each hellaciously shady and a billion-dollar enterprise. It’s a private journey for Flaherty, a filmmaker/editor/recovering alcoholic who credit the remedy he obtained in Chicago for saving his life and giving him goal. Because of a tip from a fellow ex-drinker, he learns that the shadiest stuff is occurring in—you guessed it!—Florida.
He discovers how “brokers” spherical up addicts through promoting self-help hotlines. That is actually a means for these brokers to go over addicts to wellness facilities for a lower of the insurance coverage cash. In the event that they’re not slipping them right into a rinky-dink facility someplace in South Florida (“the rehab capital of the nation,” Flaherty says), they’re flying them out to swanky spots in California or different states. These locations are much more sketchy, typically committing myriad acts of lab fraud with the continual, costly testing they do on sufferers.
Flaherty follows an addict who additionally will get in on the scamming. He spends most of his time with Cory, a round-faced motormouth who works with brokers in setting him up at amenities, so he also can get a bit of the insurance coverage cash. Dude virtually goes throughout the nation becoming a member of packages, getting paid, relapsing, and doing it over again. However Flaherty does cling with addicts who truly wish to get higher. There’s Nicole, a former profession addict who’s at all times searching for a spot with correct remedy, in addition to Daniel, a Kentucky boy who went to a California med spa and principally ended up with exorbitant payments.
“Shuffle” is admirable work from Flaherty, shining a light-weight on the greed that principally fuels these so-called wellness facilities and the addicts who, sadly, get strung alongside. However I couldn’t assist pondering he was biting off greater than he might chew. Coming in at a not-so-breezy 83 minutes, Flaherty crams in quite a lot of information concerning dependancy remedy (which he normally explains in a flat, ready-for-podcasting monotone), even throwing in animated bits for individuals who haven’t gotten it but.
Flaherty does make some selections that really feel like dumbed-down, on-the-nose pandering. He excessively hits us with flashy, random, smart-ass inventory clips that correlate with what’s being defined. When Flaherty breaks down how brokers get kickbacks, he reveals a fast clip of a man taking pictures a gun that predictably recoils on him. (One among a number of visually ridiculous moments that had me pondering, “C’mon bruh!”) He additionally has hassle protecting focus—what initially begins off as an on-the-ground report on the business ultimately slides right into a rambling portrait of three addicts who hopefully will likely be round by the tip credit. He even offers two of them every a wide ranging shot of them on the seashore, wanting on the waves because the solar goes down.
Is Shuffle well-intentioned? Clearly. Is Shuffle well-executed? Hmmm, I dunno about all that. However I’ve a sense it’s going to grow to be the go-to movie for individuals who wish to present kids not solely the hazards, however the corrupt, difficult bullshit that comes with being on medication.
