Take Your Pills
An urgent but contested examination of how prescription stimulants turn American ambition, concentration, and productivity into pharmaceutical commodities.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- urgent
- questioning
- critical
- social issue discussion
- documentary night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the documentary timely and potentially eye-opening, but many faulted its heavy-handed argument, limited data, and sluggish or repetitive presentation.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Interviews connect prescription stimulants to college classrooms, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the demand to accomplish more.
The film situates Adderall and Ritalin within an amped-up culture defined by achievement pressure and limited time.
Experts and users debate whether stimulants represent expanded possibility or a dangerous synaptic escalation.
The film combines interviews with animated sequences, archived material, and imagery centered on pills and cognitive enhancement.
Films like Take Your Pills, and why
Prescription Thugs
social issue documentary examining pharmaceutical culture, institutional pressures, and contested evidence
The Corporation
critical documentary investigation of corporate influence, public health, and everyday consumption
Generation: Freedom
contemporary documentary critique of competitive consumer culture and the pressure to optimize personal life
Movie Details
- Director
- Alison Klayman
- Release Date
- 2018-03-09
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (151)
Cast
- Eben Britton
- Dr. Wendy Brown
- Ariana
- Delaney
- Jasper Holt-Teza
- Leigh
- Anjan Chatterjee
- Alan Schwarz
- Nicholas Rasmussen
- Nathanael
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Take Your Pills about?
- An urgent but contested examination of how prescription stimulants turn American ambition, concentration, and productivity into pharmaceutical commodities.
- What is Take Your Pills like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Take Your Pills as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Take Your Pills violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Take Your Pills.
- What did critics think of Take Your Pills?
- Critics broadly found the documentary timely and potentially eye-opening, but many faulted its heavy-handed argument, limited data, and sluggish or repetitive presentation.
- Which films are like Take Your Pills?
- Films with a similar feel include Prescription Thugs, The Corporation, and Generation: Freedom.
- How long is Take Your Pills?
- Take Your Pills runs 87 minutes.
- Where can I watch Take Your Pills?
- In United States, Take Your Pills streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
