Body Brokers

Play trailer

2:19

Body Brokers

R

2021

1h 53m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Utah and Opal are junkies living on the streets of rural Ohio until a seemingly chance encounter with the enigmatic Wood (Michael Kenneth Williams) brings them to Los Angeles for treatment. While Utah finds sobriety with the help of the treatment center shrink (Academy Award®-Winner Melissa Leo), he soon learns that rehab is not about helping people—it’s merely a cover scheme for a multibillion dollar fraud operation, enlisting addicts to recruit other addicts. Seduced by the money, but troubled by the hypocrisy, Utah must decide between what will make him rich, and what will save Opal.

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Critics Consensus

Body Brokers attempts an ambitious juggling act between genre thrills and a serious social message -- and unfortunately fumbles a little too often to really pull it off.

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

Mar 1, 2021

3/5

Given the originality of Swab's take, it's a shame he couldn't find the film a more appropriate style: at heart it is a more sober film intent on declaring its outrage.

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Peter Debruge

Variety

Feb 20, 2021

An entertaining and eye-opening insider's take on the treatment racket.

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Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

Feb 20, 2021

3/4

An explosion of stylish crime...

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Jul 1, 2022

“This is a film about where capitalism fails addicts,” Swab comments. Of course, mass drug addiction is already an expression of capitalism’s massive failure and growing crisis. In any case, Body Brokers shines a light on one of its many graveyards.

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Josh Parham

Next Best Picture

Jun 5, 2022

4/10

The banal filmmaking doesn't aid in the dragging pace, nor does the superficial screenplay find any real inventive means to comment on its empty themes.

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Daniel Gorman

In Review Online

Jun 6, 2021

The film rallies for a bracing finale, but despite the bold ending, Body Brokers never manages to rise above being a noble failure.

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Stoner J.

@Stoner Apr 11, 2026

Typical John Swab flick. Mediocre as it is, it’s probably his best film, next to Candy Land

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Clean U

@RT70774117 Mar 15, 2025

That sounds a really good movie!. And it opens your eyes to how much of a scam the insurance companies really are.

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Don J

@RT83956876 Oct 17, 2023

Now I understand why the insurance costs skyrocketed after Obamacare.

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jed i

@RT01296269 Nov 28, 2021

5.7/10 — "Mediocre"/"Passable" -(Seen on 11/27/21)

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Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 Oct 17, 2021

Hits the nail on the head about the problem within the treatment facilities and programs and how not everyone on the clean & sober' side of the fence is what they seem.

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Oct 5, 2021

Loved this movie 4.5. Freakin opal is a bad girl . The never ending cycle man. It’s eerie watching this after the way Michael Williams died. It’s like this movie continued on in real life

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Body Brokers: Trailer 1

2:19

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Synopsis

Utah and Opal are junkies living on the streets of rural Ohio until a seemingly chance encounter with the enigmatic Wood (Michael Kenneth Williams) brings them to Los Angeles for treatment. While Utah finds sobriety with the help of the treatment center shrink (Academy Award®-Winner Melissa Leo), he soon learns that rehab is not about helping people—it’s merely a cover scheme for a multibillion dollar fraud operation, enlisting addicts to recruit other addicts. Seduced by the money, but troubled by the hypocrisy, Utah must decide between what will make him rich, and what will save Opal.

Director: John Swab
Producer: Robert Ogden Barnum, Oliver Ridge, Jeremy M. Rosen, John Swab
Screenwriter: John Swab
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: One Two Twenty Entertainment, Roxwell Films, Voltage Pictures, Particular Crowd, BondIt Media Capital, Blood Moon Creative
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Pervasive Language|Strong Drug Content)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 19, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 19, 2021
Runtime: 1h 53m

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