10 Best True Crime Documentaries Of 2023 (So Far)
2. American Pain
American Pain is relentlessly entertaining and wickedly intelligent. CNN Films' true crime epic paints a vivid portrait of a story so laughably unbelievable that it can be a struggle to believe that the events depicted happened even as they unfold before our very eyes.
There's clearly something in the Floridian waters. Society has seen it all from the Sunshine State, to the point where one rarely even bats an eyelid at headlines in the vein of "Florida Man Charged With Assault After Throwing Alligator Through Drive-Thru Window". American Pain focuses on the story of the George brothers - two bodybuilders and proud Floridians who became the unlikely figureheads of the largest oxycodone trafficking ring in the history of the United States, set against the backdrop of some decidedly Wolf of Wall Street-esque shenanigans.
It's hard to overstate just how engaging the documentary is - 105 minutes legitimately flash by. American Pain manages a true crime experience that is on par with a blockbuster film in terms of entertainment value, flawlessly combined with slick commentary and insight into the by-products of a devastating opioid epidemic and the failings at the heart of local government responsible for this unlikely tale.