The Trade

I've seen a lot of documentaries on drugs and addiction, and this series belongs at the top with the best of them.

Mathew Heineman (who also directed Cartel Land and City of Ghosts) delivers more evidence of his incredible talent for capturing difficult stories in dangerous places-while delivering perspectives from people caught right in the middle of it all.

At times this documentary series reminded me of the movie Traffic, with its dramatic ability to bring to life vastly different points of view inside the drug trade. (But this being non-fiction.) Growers, traffickers, law enforcement, drug users and many others are given time in this fascinating look into the many, many sides of the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Unlike a lot of recent documentaries that feel forced into a "series" format, The Trade brilliantly uses the time and space that its five-episode format provides. Also, drama doesn't feel forced or constructed, the characters are unique and memorable, and the editing is top notch.