‘King Ivory’ Opens in Theaters to Split Notices on Gritty Fentanyl Drama

Overview

• Writer-director John Swab’s ensemble crime drama portrays the fentanyl trade through intersecting stories of dealers, law enforcement and users.
• The film is now playing in theaters, headlined by James Badge Dale with prominent roles for Ben Foster and Michael Mando.
• Reviews compare the multi-strand structure and impressionistic style to Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, with some calling it derivative and others finding it effective.
• Ben Foster’s subdued turn, shaped by a character with a stoma, is widely singled out, while Dale gets a rare leading showcase and Mando emphasizes moral ambiguity.
• Cast interviews highlight Swab’s embedded research across prisons, suburbs, federal and tactical units, and cartel contacts, aiming to ground the film’s realism.