Sundance review: 'Union County' puts Will Poulter and a cast of nonprofessional actors through a richly detailed look at recovery from addiction

Most movies about recovery from addiction fall into familiar plot patterns of struggle, relapse and redemption — but what makes writer-director Adam Meeks’ drama “Union County” one of the better examples of this genre is how he digs into the true-life details of such battles.

Will Poulter (“Death of a Unicorn”) plays Cody Parsons, recently out of jail and returned to his Ohio home town, where he’s enrolled in a county-mandated drug court program. He’s required to show up at court every day, keep a daily log of his activities, and take regular drug tests. On his first day, he runs into his foster brother, Jack (Noah Centineo), who’s also in the program.

Getting Cody and Jack back together isn’t the best thing for either man’s recovery efforts. We see them drive up to a house, buy some drugs, and shoot up in Cody’s car. They immediately crash the car, and Cody stumbles into the house where their sister, Kat (Emily Meade), lives with her little girl. The next morning, after finding Cody asleep on her couch, Kat calls the cops.

If there’s a silver lining in this moment, it’s that the judge decided Jack should be sent to a more restrictive rehab program in a nearby town — which opens up a space for Cody, who had been living out his car, to stay in the town’s sober living center. 

Meeks roots the story in the reality of addiction treatment in Bellefontaine, Ohio, about 30 minutes from the filmmaker’s home town of Columbus. The judge and the county clerk who oversee the drug court program, as well as several of its participants, portray themselves, depicting how opioid addiction has devastated this small town and many others like it. 

Poulter gives a grounded and understated performance that shows how hard and how mundane the day-to-day struggle to stay clean can be. Poulter’s portrayal of Cody’s addiction battle feels almost as real as the ones of his nonprofessional casemates.

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‘Union County’

★★★1/2

Screening in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Not rated, but probably R for drug use and language. Running time: 97 minutes.

The film screens again: Monday, Jan. 26, 8:30 a.m., Park City Library, Park City; Tuesday, Jan. 27, 8:10 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 2, Park City; Wednesday, Jan. 28, 6 p.m., Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Salt Lake City; Sunday, Feb. 1, 3:45 p.m., Holiday Village Cinemas 1, Salt Lake City. Park City. Also screening on Sundance’s web portal, Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.