Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. I usually watch films with audio description, but I’m unaware if Shuffle has any existing audio description.

Living in Florida, it just really is a realm of possibilities. We truly do like to break new ground, and redefine what is is to be winning in this modern age. We truly are masters of creation. Why do you think the President lives in Florida? think about it. If you were to hear that a man was arrested after getting into a bare knuckle fight with a police officer in a wal-Mart parking lot, that could be anywhere. But, what if this was a naked man, and he was getting into a fight because he tried to take his emotional support alligator in to the store with him while he was shopping? While the other 49 states like to revel in the mundane, we here in Florida, we love to stir shit up. It might be a byproduct of being ravaged by hurricanes on a nearly annual basis. It also might be that good old boy ideaology that gives us the most dangerous stretch of road in the country, a lake (Jesup) which has around 13 to 14 thousand alligators in it. Pray tell, you ask? because the state used to use it as a relocation destination for alligators from any other populated body of water, moving them all to Lake Jesup. And being Floridians, we thought what the hell, we should put some lakefront homes on it. Speaking of, has anyone seen my dog?

Shuffle, because of course it does, takes place in Florida, the winning capital in the country, where we have an abnormal amount of drug treatment rehabilitation facilities, almost all seemingly designed to make profit off an individual, seeing them as a bank rather than a problem that perhaps needs solving. Director Benjamin Flaherty, who admits he struggled with addiction himself, sees how people seeking treatment are being taken advantage of, and lays out the systematic failure in fine form.

he meets with an addict over Facebook, who gives him just enough information to move our story forward, and learn all about how these facilities do whatever they can, incentivized to keep people relapsing instead of truly rehabbing, as long as they have insurance. They defraud insurance companies by ordering the most comprehensive urine tests, costing thousands, and do it at a pace that makes no sense if someone understands how long it takes to show clean on a test. if you took a test on Tuesday, you are likely to still be positive on Thursday.

then we have brokers, motivational types who are given a kickback from a facility when they can get someone with an insurance card to them. These people believe they are there to get help. that would be an incorrect thought. It shouldn’t be that way. You should actually get treatment. but following laws and loopholes that came mostly in response to the opioid crisis in the 2000’s exposes an industry in crisis, and a vulnerable population unaware it is a cleverly designed trap.

Shuffle won the Grand jury prize at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival, and I can understand it. This is a film searching to bring truth to power, in a way we haven’t seen yet. if I had any quarrels, it is just that at 83 minutes, Shuffle has room to do more. A film like this works even better when the problem feels far more systematic, expansive, and the stories all different, but with the same ending. While there are a few people featured here, it would have been a reinforced idea to continue to show it wasn’t just that one person, or that one area, but that the problem is affecting far and wide, a variety of people, and perhaps there’s no real end in sight. Focus on more brokers. Amplify and champion the stories of those who were defeated by the cycle, reduced to a mere memory. But don’t just do one, do a few. 2015’s Spotlight hit like a ton of bricks, because after an incredibly affecting drama, the movie ends with page after page of parishes with problems like what you just saw. I remember seeing the first page, and feeling surprised. then the second page came, and it was a gut punch. Finally, it flips one more time for the knockout.

If this film was casting a wide net and had a longer runtime, I’d have only the note of not being a big fan of those who go anonymous, especially if there’s more than one in a film. But, that is a small issue, as is the thought of really bringing it home.

Shuffle takes an interesting look at the price we put on someone’s head in the medical field, and the sad reality of how easy it is to exploit a vulnerability on a large scale.

Fresh: 8.7/10