Union County, a new drama starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo, is released this Friday from Oscilloscope Pictures, joining recent screen depictions of America's opioid crisis such as Netflix's Painkiller and Hulu's Dopesick. Unlike those productions, which examined the pharmaceutical industry and the Sackler family's role in the epidemic, this film offers a more intimate portrait, following two foster brothers as they attempt to overcome addiction, having premiered earlier at the Sundance Film Festival.

The story is set in Union County, Ohio, an area regarded as ground zero of the opioid crisis, and follows brothers Cody (Poulter) and Jack Parsons (Centineo) as they go through a court-mandated rehabilitation programme. Cody's recovery is particularly difficult, weighed down by a history of teenage drug use, a prison sentence, and guilt over introducing Jack to opioids. Collider has shared an exclusive clip showing Jack appearing before a judge after failing a drug screening for alcohol, a tense scene that underlines the strict conditions of the recovery process.