The film Four Days with Her arrived on Netflix on April 27th, telling an emotional story starring Mila Kunis and quickly became one of the most watched productions on streaming. In the plot, she plays Molly, a young woman addicted to opioids who tries, for the 15th time, to kick the habit and live an ordinary life. To do this, she counts on the help of Deb (Glenn Close), her tireless mother who does everything to see her free from drugs.
Photo: Indigenous Media / Canaltech
However, as opioids are a highly addictive type of substance, doctors only find one way to help: injecting a substance that has the opposite effect. To do this, however, she needs to spend at least four days without using any type of drug or medication, and that is when the ordeal between mother and daughter begins.
In Four Days of Summer, Deb tries everything to keep her daughter away from drugs. (Disclosure/Indigenous Media)
Photo: Canaltech
Desperate, the young woman goes into withdrawal and writhes in pain and the desire to use drugs. Meanwhile, Deb has to deal with the guilt of being the mother of an addict and the old wounds from the past that her daughter’s return has brought.
Drama based on a real case
This emotional story full of ups and downs was based on an article published in The Washington Post in 2016. Titled How is Amanda? A story of truth, lies, and an American addiction, the text won journalist Eli Saslow a Pulitzer Prize, the most important in world journalism. Throughout the publication, he details the story of Libby Alexander and Amanda Wendler, mother and daughter, respectively.
Serving as the inspiration for Molly in the film, Amanda also moved back in with her mother in an attempt to quit drugs and stay clean long enough to get the injection — in real life, it’s seven days. She became addicted as a child, when she suffered an injury that forced her to take a box of 120 Vicodin pills, an opioid that combines acetaminophen and hydrocodone.
Mila Kunis plays Molly in Four Days of Summer. (Disclosure/Indigenous Media)
Photo: Canaltech
As a result, he started using drugs that had the same effect and lost all his teeth due to lack of personal hygiene. Despite trying to rehabilitate herself, while trying to stay clean, Amanda convinced her mother to help her find an old friend named Sammy — who was actually the person who supplied her with the drugs.
On the day of the exam to receive the medicine, she also tried to convince her mother to change the urine samples, as she knew she would not be able to receive the injections because she had relapsed. Fortunately, she managed to get back on her feet and becomes an example for everyone thinking about quitting the habit.
In an interview with the press, Amanda commented that she felt happy and excited to see Kunis playing her on the big screen and that her expectation is that the film will help remove the stigma that remains on people who are addicted to drugs.
The success of the film
Directed and scripted by Colombian Rodrigo García, Four Days with Her it achieved an 81% approval rating from the common audience on Rotten Tomatoes, and competed for the 2022 Oscar in the Best Original Song category, but failed to take home the statuette. Now, anyone who wants to give this exciting story a chance can play it on Netflix, in addition to AppleTV+ and Google Play.
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