'Union County' Review: Will Poulter Anchors This Intense and Uneven Drama About the Opioid Epidemic

In a quiet town in Ohio, Cody Parsons (Will Poulter) stands up to speak with a judge (Kevin P. Braig) for his county-mandated drug court program. In his feature debut, director and writer Adam Meeks charts a quiet and deeply human journey of a man's path to sobriety, with all of the winding roads and detours that it requires. Union County follows Cody as he begins his program with the court and watches as he reconnects with his foster brother, Jack (Noah Centineo), and tracks their addiction and recovery to opioids. A quiet and thoughtful film, Meeks paints on the muted canvas of Bellefontaine, Ohio, bringing in local non-actors to show an honest face of recovery. While the film's pacing meanders at times, Union County offers strong performances from Poulter and Centineo and highlights a side of recovery rarely seen in film.

What Is 'Union County' About?

Union County follows Cody Parsons through his tumultuous journey in recovery. Signing up for an 18-month sober support program, he struggles to stay on the wagon. Having started taking opiates at 16, Cody's life hasn't been easy. His addiction has alienated him from his sister, Kat (Emily Meade), and he feels immense guilt for being the one to introduce his brother, Jack, to drugs. As he enters the program, we follow Cody through the monotony of his daily life. He works at a factory that makes wooden pallets alongside Jack and routinely attends court to update the judge on his progress.

Although Cody has support from the system, especially from the therapist Annette (Annette Deao), who works with the court, his personal life lacks the same kind of support. After falling off the wagon, his car is ruined, but a spot at a sober living facility opens up. Determined to continue his journey toward sobriety, Cody attends meetings and connects with other addicts, including his neighbor Anna (Elise Kibler). But when tragedy strikes just as he is finding some equilibrium in his life, Cody faces a crossroads as he spirals into depression and must decide what path he wants to take.

'Union County' Offers an Honest Look at Addiction and Sobriety

The thing that stands out the most in Union County is its use of non-actors, including Deao herself, to depict every person's story. Though the film's emotional story centers around Cody, Union County spends a lot of its time focusing on the stories of the recovering addicts. The result is something that comes as a cross between fiction and non-fiction. It would be incorrect to call the film a documentary, but the way in which it documents these very personal accounts of these people's lives is something that is immediately striking.

Similarly, Cody's story is not one mired in drama or upheaval. Drug abuse and addiction are often dramatically portrayed in film and television, and the road to recovery is seen as almost instantaneous, with a hopeful glimmer that a first attempt at sobriety is also the last. But Union County paints a different picture. When Cody falls off the wagon, it's not a devastatingly horrific moment. It's sad and disappointing because we were rooting for him, and the somber shot of him going into the dealer's house and leaving with the narcotics is sinister but quietly so. Cody is fighting his inner demons as much as he is fighting the opiates. Sobriety isn't treated as a cure-all, but rather a new, arduous journey, one that is completely unglamorous but deeply rewarding.

'Union County' Struggles With Pacing and Balance

The issue with Union County is that it is meditative to a fault. Shots linger for a long time on Cody, whether he's working at the factory, playing with his nephew, or working on his car. For many indie filmmakers, it's a sort of shorthand for artistry as we spend long, interrupted scenes watching a character go through the motions. The issue here is that this shorthand is used too often. Even at a trim 97 minutes, the film often feels like it's dragging in these moments. Meeks' attempt to braid artistry with this deeply affecting story doesn't work perfectly, and the result is moments that serve no true purpose.

These moments end up stuttering the pace of the film. Just as the film is picking up, it comes to a screeching halt. It's not helped by the fact that the intercut non-actor stories cast a long shadow to Cody's own narrative. There's so much story to delve into, both with Cody's personal life and also in his relationship with his siblings, but we only scratch the surface. The monologues from each of the non-actors shows how unique each circumstance is, but Cody's quietly fades into the background despite being our protagonist. At times, it's unclear whether Meeks wants to tell a general story about addiction in America or Cody's own unique story.

Will Poulter Stands Out as the Star of 'Union County'

If any film was to demonstrate how much Will Poulter has matured as an actor, it would be this one. Poulter, who had his breakout role in the comedy film We're the Millers, has been stretching his acting muscles for a while. Having appeared in everything from Midsommar and The Revenant to The Chronicles of Narnia and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, his role as Cody puts him front and center. Viewers might be more familiar with his recent part on The Bear as the charming and likeable pastry chef Luca, but as a part of an ensemble, he is just one cog of a larger machine there. In Union County, Poulter makes the most of the sparse script that he's given and delivers his most convincing performance yet.

Similarly, Noah Centineo is initially almost unrecognizable as Jack. Bearded and disheveled, he's a far cry from Peter Kavinsky in the To All the Boys franchise. Still warm and friendly, Centineo carries the ghosts of Jack's past on his shoulders and his natural camaraderie with Poulter's Cody only makes the reality of their struggle that much more painful to watch. Beside Centineo and Poulter, Deao gives a heartfelt and stunning performance. As a therapist who helps people navigate recovery in real life, she is a natural in front of the camera as one of Cody's strongest supporters. Her natural warmth and kindness radiate off the screen and feel deeply authentic.

'Union County' Is a Solid Effort, but Stretches Itself Too Thin

It's clear this story is a personal one to Meeks. He recounted in the Q&A after the film's premiere that it was in a return to Ohio to see his sick grandmother that he began to learn about the real impact the opioid epidemic had on the place where he grew up. You can feel the heart in Union County, but as a film, it lacks the cohesiveness that it needs. Caught between real-life accounts and a fictional narrative, the film stretches itself thin to accommodate the two. While the real stories are moving, it also puts Cody's fictional story in stark contrast and can make his monologues almost feel performative in comparison because of how shallow his story remains. Poulter's acting keeps it afloat ultimately, but there are moments when the desire to focus on the recovery journey overshadows the actual story at the heart of the film. Ultimately, Union County is a respectable debut for Meeks, but in trying to do too much, it fails to land on solid ground by the time the film is over.

Union County premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.