Union County

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2:12

Union County

Aug 2026

1h 37m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

95%

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61 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Will Poulter and Noah Centineo deliver pitch-perfect performances as brothers Cody and Jack Parsons, each navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in a pocket of rural Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Provided with hope for the first time since their struggles began and with the support of a tireless counselor (Annette Deao), the brothers work toward a brighter, sober future. Poulter and Centineo blend seamlessly with a supporting cast composed predominantly of non-professional actors as they share their actual experiences, pain, and optimism as they, themselves, navigate the program. Ohio-born filmmaker Adam Meeks creates a film imbued with realism for an honest, compassionate portrait of a battle being fought across America and the solidarity that flowers on its front lines.

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Critics Consensus

Union County is an austere yet deeply compassionate portrait of addiction and recovery, finding clear-eyed humanity in the difficult, often cyclical work of rebuilding lives.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Aug 14, 2026

The right mix of true and imagined can give the simplest of humane narratives — in this case, the possibility of renewal in an epidemic of hurt — a fresher chance to touch us.

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Peter Travers

The Travers Take

Aug 14, 2026

3/4

This riveting mix of fact and fiction puts real opioid addicts in competition with actors to see who can play addiction best. It’s no contest.

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

Aug 14, 2026

4/4

[It] succeeds as an intimate story about addicts fighting inner demons that ended many lives, but also as austere cinematic object that draws on cinema’s past for inspiration but never feels imitative or coldly theoretical.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Sep 3, 2026

It’s a well-crafted, quietly compelling movie that could have been better: Good as he is, Poulter’s character lacks much definition, which is something you could say for the arguably over-restrained screenplay as a whole.

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Brett Arnold

At the Movies Again

Sep 1, 2026

It's such an interior, barely-there performance...so understated yet you can see so much on his face. [Poulter is] really impressive.

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Adam Courtliff

InSession Film

Sep 1, 2026

B

As Union County draws to a close, it becomes abundantly clear that it has no intention of having a glossy Hollywood ending.

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Carmen B

Sep 28, 2026

Incredible acting. Necessary story.

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Tony Nuke

Sep 12, 2026

Great indie film! Slow paced and not too much drama

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Chris E

@ChrisEdelman Oct 8, 2026

not that it was bad, but too slow for me. Great acting, but had to move on.

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Jimmy Z

@aikekhun Oct 7, 2026

I have never seen the skills of Will but short videos on social media. This is the movie which I became a fan of him.

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MB C

@MB.Cinema Oct 5, 2026

Union County is a crime drama that follows Cody, a former inmate who enters an 18-month court supervised recovery program after struggling with opioid addiction. As he attempts to rebuild his life and repair his damaged relationships, relapses, family guilt, and painful memories make his journey toward sobriety far more difficult than simply staying clean. Led by a deeply understated performance from Will Poulter, the film offers an honest and grounded portrayal of addiction and recovery, avoiding easy solutions and conventional redemption stories. Its use of real people sharing their recovery experiences adds authenticity and emotional weight, while the natural chemistry between Poulter and Noah Centineo strengthens the story. However, the slow pacing and uneven balance between Cody's fictional journey and the real-life testimonies occasionally weaken the narrative. Despite these shortcomings,

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Alison H

@RT68850562 Sep 26, 2026

Noah Centineo brought it 100% as an out of control junkie, and Will Poulter was excellent as the more stable of the two brothers- a character needed to give the audience a sense of hope. Elise Kibler and Annette Deau were unbelievably good. Well done, the whole cast. I came away with a sense of how fragile each day is for a recovering addict. One bad day, a moment of weakness can set you back to the beginning, or kill you.

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Adam Meeks

Director

Will Poulter

Cody Parsons

Noah Centineo

Jack

Elise Kibler

Actor

Emily Meade

Actor

Annette Deao

Annette

Union County: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Will Poulter and Noah Centineo deliver pitch-perfect performances as brothers Cody and Jack Parsons, each navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in a pocket of rural Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Provided with hope for the first time since their struggles began and with the support of a tireless counselor (Annette Deao), the brothers work toward a brighter, sober future. Poulter and Centineo blend seamlessly with a supporting cast composed predominantly of non-professional actors as they share their actual experiences, pain, and optimism as they, themselves, navigate the program. Ohio-born filmmaker Adam Meeks creates a film imbued with realism for an honest, compassionate portrait of a battle being fought across America and the solidarity that flowers on its front lines.

Director: Adam Meeks
Producer: Brad Becker-Parton, Martha Gregory, Stephanie Roush, Faye Tsakas, Sean Weiner, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Ellyn Daniels, Will O'Connor, Will Poulter
Screenwriter: Adam Meeks
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Seaview, Arkhum Productions, Kindred Spirit
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 14, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 2, 2026
Runtime: 1h 37m

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