It’s no secret that America has an addiction problem on their hands, but Benjamin Flaherty’s SXSW winning documentary “Mix“Due that it also has a rehabilitation problem.
A look at the life of three inhabitants of Florida who struggle to free themselves from a predator system with profit -making recovery centers that benefit from their dependence on substances, film Shows a depressing familiar pattern of institutions that fail with the individuals they exist to help. Flaherty is a former addict himself and uses his own sobriety journey as a starting point to discuss the ways that corrupt facilities can play with the patient’s life as a way of deceiving insurance companies, which ultimately makes the argument that real recovery can only be achieved through a joint effort to each other.
Scenic opinions and relaxing rules helped turn southern Florida into the world’s rehabilitation. Hundreds of facilities are found throughout the state, everyone advertises the opportunity to become sober while taking long walks on the beach and watching sunsets at your insurance company’s crown. But the quantity is not as quality, and “mixing” is quick to reveal how little of these facilities care about their patients. For in the rehabilitation world – Like the world of prison – The real money is not made by releasing healthy people back to society. The fastest way to profit is to keep people dependent on your expensive services.
Some of Flaherty’s subjects have lived in dozens of rehabilitation facilities throughout their adult lives, often as part of an insurance fraud that they did not realize they were at until it was too late. Changes in US insurance as part of the Affordable Care Act significantly expanded the amount of rehabilitation services that can be covered by health insurance. As a result, some shady facilities went out of their path to cold called addicts who were previously in other facilities and offer them money to check in for a detox. Giving a patient a few thousand dollars in cash is a small price to pay for the opportunity to charge an insurance company almost a million dollars for services they do not need. Often, the plants do not care to prevent their residents from drinking or using drugs in the premises.
It would be bad enough as it is, but the real evil in the heart of “shuffle” is the way these plants stimulate relapse. Different levels of rehabilitation intensity cost different amounts of money, but nothing is more lucrative than the initial detox for a patient using. Flaherty’s topics claim that these facilities release addicts to the streets after weeks with non -existent treatments and hand them over with cash as a participation fee, and know fully where the money will probably be spent. It only benefits the next facility that calls the patient and takes them in for another detox and starts the evil bike again.
“Shuffle” is almost biblical in its portrayal of how human nature can infiltrate even the most well -meaning plans and turn them rotten overnight, as the grotesque situation it shows is the last domino in a chain of actions that everyone seemed helpful. For decades, activists asked the government and the public to see dependence as an illness, not a lifestyle choice – and therefore see the problem of solving it as a public health problem, not a criminal law. Two obvious measures were the destiny of going to rehabilitation and letting people use their medical insurance to pay for it. And these policies have Probably favored thousands of people who are not shown in this movie, but “Shuffle” is a reminder that there will always be bad actors waiting to get a new loophole.
When it comes to less than 85 minutes, “Shuffle” quickly makes its point, even if it leaves you who want a little more depth. A decent amount of anonymity is required, especially when Flaherty introduces an FBI informant which is part of a larger investigation of these predatory insurance rings, which sacrifices some character development for the best. But even though it sometimes makes you long for more narrative heft or preparation of the facilities it discusses, the film is an important work on public service that shows why we cannot cure these social diseases by simply throwing more money on them.
“Shuffle” is not an anti-Rehab movie and devotes an admirable percentage of its short time to praise the higher quality facilities that do Help patients move on with their lives. And even in the midst of its condemnation of human greed, it leaves the viewers on a positive note by suggesting that lasting recovery is possible. Each individual’s path to sobriety may look different, but the common denominator gets help from people who are willing to do it for free.
Rating: B+
“Shuffle” premiered at SXSW 2025. It is currently seeking US distribution.
Want to keep you updated on IndieWire’s movie Reviews And critical thoughts? Subscribe here To our recently launched newsletter, in review by David Ehrlich, where our main film critic and Head Review’s editor rounds off the best new reviews and streaming choices along with some exclusive Musings – all only available for subscribers.
