If there's any chance you're confused about the title M30 Oxy, it's the opening moments of Wesley Mullins's indie feature film that will likely illuminate the journey about to unfold. Noomi (Leanne Johnson) is in a garage, the blue-tinged world of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals' Oxycodone Hydrochloride is before our eyes and it's abundantly clear before long that we're off on quite the dramatic adventure.
The truth is that I identified more with M30 Oxy than I'd like to admit. With a father from Appalachian Kentucky and a paternal side of the family that has long been challenged, even devastated, by addiction, M30 Oxy resonates for its quiet truths and painful realities.
M30 Oxy isn't always an easy film to watch and at over two hours it's a film that requires an investment. However, it's a film with intersecting storylines working to expose the more hidden aspects of the Appalachian opioid crisis that has often gotten lost in a Hollywood bent on either romanticizing Appalachia, falsely representing Appalachia, or projecting those from the region as nothing more than victims of those big bad pharmaceutical companies.
Oh sure, there are pieces of truth in all of this. However, M30 Oxy wants to paint a more vivid and truthful picture.
M30 Oxy tells the story of a group of individuals, some connected and some not, in a rural Kentucky county as the COVID-19 pandemic expoded and already poor people got a whole lot more poor. Tensions rose and the fight to survive occasionally meant that good people made bad choices. Other people? Well, they coped any way they could. M30 Oxy doesn't compromise the truth - just because you're a good person making a desperate choice doesn't mean there won't be consequences.
Sometimes, those consequences will be deadly.
While I wouldn't quite call it a hardcore flick, M30 Oxy gets into the dirt and grit of desperate people doing desperate things and sometimes just plain evil people who are willing to exploit the suffering of others for their own benefit.
The film is no doubt an ensemble motion picture, though there's also no doubt that certain performances resonate as front-and-center. Featuring a significant number of Hoosiers, including up-and-comer Leanne Johnson as co-star, co-writer, and co-producer, M30 Oxy is a familiar regional tale with universal appeal.
Johnson's Noomi is a drug enforcer of sorts working alongside Lewis Wright's Stanton. The two are, for the most part, evil personified, both from and exploiting this region with a relentless force. As of late, Johnson has been a force of nature out ot prove her diverse talents. There's a soulfulness to her Noomi, not so much making us sympathize with her as simply feel her presence. In some ways, Johnson's Noomi is a pretty straightforward baddie but there's a layer bubbling underneath that makes us keep watching when we want to turn away.
I was equally enchanted by Lewis Wright, perhaps the most convincing in his portrait of an Appalachian presence. He reminded me, in good and bad ways, of uncles I've had and lost and whose way got detoured by bad choices and traumatic responses.
While these two were often front-and-center, it's important to note that these intersecting stories mattered and M30 Oxy truly is an ensemble piece. Ashley Stinnett devastates as Wheeler, Jordan Mullins is memorable as Jimbo, and Dara Jade Tiller commands the screen in her limited time as Aunt Tootie.
Another absolute stunner is Megan Massie as Hannah, her storyline perhaps the most relatable within the film and Massie's emotional, layered performance compelling and honest. Massie is so good here that I found myself rushing over to IMDB to see what else she'd done.
While these ensemble motion pictures are frequently hit-and-miss when it comes to performance, M30 Oxy is somewhat surprisingly strong throughout with impressive turns also offered by Brenda Jo Reutebuch as Pam, Lily Anna Tillman as Jess, Olivia Conley, as Lyla, Jonathan O'Brien's Eli, and Gerry Rose as among others. Kudos, as well, to the late Elijah Herald for a relatively brief yet memorable performance.
Original music by Hunter Harris nicely complements the film's dramatic rhythms. Jason R. Johnson's lensing lingers, sometimes uncomfortably so, in such a way that demands we keep watching long after we're comfortable doing so.
A 2+ hour indie feature is a hard sell in a stubborn movie market, however, M30 Oxy is worth the time and investment and here's hoping after its successful indie fest run that it finds a good home with an indie distributor that can help it find a wider audience. If you get a chance, check it out.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
