Pain Hustlers is Netflix’s latest attempt at taking on the ongoing opioid epidemic in the U.S. and it has done its best to be authentic.
While the tsunami of painkiller addictions that has swept across America can mostly be traced back to the Sackler family (and a legal system that has let them get rich by lying, causing thousands of deaths, and countless hours of misery), this film starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans focuses on the story of one woman who takes a job pushing pills, before realizing just how evil what she’s doing is.
Although it’s not a true story per se, Pain Hustlers has taken inspiration from many real-life events that took place in America in the past couple of decades. In an attempt to capture the realism of America and how the opioid crisis has affected communities, director David Yates wanted to shoot on location, which means there are plenty of spots that appear in the movie that you can swing by. If you want to know where Pain Hustlers was filmed, then continue to read ahead to find out!
Where was Pain Hustlers filmed?
Pain Hustlers was mostly filmed on location in Florida and Georgia. To be specific, various locations in the Sunshine State were used, including Miami, whereas filming in Georgia took place mostly in Atlanta and Savannah. Although the film isn’t exactly garnering critical acclaim, the cinematography is stunning, aided by these (mostly) beautiful locations.
Central Florida and Miami
A huge portion of Pain Hustlers was filmed in Florida, with a lot of the shots specifically taken in Miami. The party capital of the States has long been known as a glamorous location and has plenty to offer, from stunning beaches to impressive architecture. The city isn’t just a built-up beach city, though, as it is home to many cultural and economically important touchstones, as well as landmarks like the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Panorama Tower, and the Freedom Tower.
You might be able to glimpse some of these attractions and more in the film as there are plenty of exterior shots of the city. To be more specific, there are aerial shots of a property in Golden Beach, a gorgeous waterside town just north of the city center, in which you should be able to see the Miami skyline. Although we can now be certain about this as the film has been released worldwide, in late 2022 gossip blogger Just Jared posted a snap of Blunt and Evans arriving in Miami, so the fact about the city being a filming location has been known for quite some time.
The cast and crew also spent time shooting in Central Florida, which has attractions like the John F. Kennedy Space Center and Walt Disney World nearby. All of this means lots of opportunities for iconic backgrounds!
Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia
Georgia’s state capital (and also the setting of the surreal, genius FX show created by Donald Glover) remains one of America’s most underrated cities from an international perspective, but the crew behind Pain Hustlers is clearly aware of just how great a spot it is. While filming the movie they spent time in several neighborhoods across the city, capturing various key scenes as well as important exterior and interior shots. This was something director Yates confirmed via an interview with Screen Daily:
“I had never made a film in America, so it intrigued me working in an American landscape. Before all those big Potter movies, my career was defined by moving fast, shooting fast, being on location, (making) very grounded, earthy dramas. With this, we were on, sometimes, two or three locations a day in Atlanta, shooting fast. It was a pleasure to go back to that, not waiting for the greenscreen or the puppet to come on.”
So, if you’re a local or know the city well, be prepared to spot something familiar.
Atlanta wasn’t the only place in Georgia where filming took place. Yates also took the crew to the historic coastal city of Savannah, where he filmed on location at the Traveler’s Inn at 5629 Ogeechee Road. This pivotal location stands in as the motel where Blunt’s character first takes her daughter to live while they’re suffering from financial hardship, and the car park appears in the trailer as well as several other times throughout the film.