R | 2h 10m | Crime, Thriller | 2025
“King ivory” is one of the many slang terms for fentanyl, the synthetic drug that’s spurred, in the United States, the deadliest drug epidemic in human history and become the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. Rock stars Prince and Tom Petty, and rappers Coolio and Mac Miller all died from Fentanyl overdoses.
The movie of the same name is a well-made, hard-hitting, urgently topical crime thriller from writer-director John Swab. All walks of life intersect in this exposé about America’s fentanyl pandemic. Carrying the same reality-based gravitas as “Sicario” and “Training Day,” it’s a wonder “King Ivory” is not a bigger movie.
The film takes the same approach as Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” but feels more realistic, due to being based on Swab’s extensive research with drug traffickers, addicts, convicts, cops, migrants, as well as his own personal experience as an addict. It packs a punch of authenticity that hits like prime Mike Tyson.
3 Storylines
Set in present-day Tulsa, Oklahoma, the script weaves a web that connects three storylines and groups, each containing several characters. First up is Mexican cartel’s local shot-caller Ramon Garza (Michael Mando from “Breaking Bad”). Garza oversees a wide-ranging drug trafficking operation in Oklahoma.
Drug cop Layne West (James Badge Dale), in “King Ivory.” (Universal Pictures)He’s got a territorial deal with Holt Lightfeather (Graham Greene), the imprisoned leader of the IBH cartel (Indian Brotherhood), who controls state-wide trafficking while doing life in McAlester, Oklahoma State Pen—a.k.a. “Big Mac.”
Early in the film, Ramon recruits Lago (David De La Barcena), a young Mexican immigrant, and puts him to work as a dealer. Lago is the only one who survived the group of illegals Ramon smuggled across the border. They all died of heat stroke in the back of the truck. This particular scene is claustrophobic, haunting, terrifying, and likely to leave audiences gasping for breath.
The second group features Oklahoma drug cop Layne West (James Badge Dale) and his partner and best buddy Ty Grady (George Carroll). They’re the front line of defense on the streets against the rise of fentanyl, taking down stash houses and trying to work their way up the line to nab cartel leaders. Layne’s wayward, rebellious teenage son Jack (Jasper Jones) is soon inhaling Fenty-fumes off a heated piece of tinfoil with his stoner girlfriend Colby (Kaylee Curry).
Lastly, there’s habitual criminal George “Smiley” Greene (Ben Foster) who gets released early from the slammer for garroting and stabbing a couple of fellow inmates at the behest of Lightfeather. Back on the streets, he becomes an enforcer for Lightfeather, assisted by his old-school, formerly Irish mob and Fenty-addicted uncle, “Mickey the Hoop” (Ritchie Coster), and his stone-cold mother, Ginger (Melissa Leo, who specializes in hard-bitten women of a certain age).
Performances
“King Ivory” is especially effective in the weaving together the intersecting storylines of the various characters. It widens the perspective to encompass the giant, drug-based web that has ensnared multitudes, regardless of race or class. The most powerful impression is Lago selling fentanyl out of his car on the street, with all races and both genders popping their head into his car to grab dime-bags that are literally 50 times more potent than heroin.
All characters are compellingly portrayed, especially Foster’s Smiley, who speaks through an electrolarynx and whose polite and soft-spoken demeanor is completely at odds with his propensity for murderous violence. Coster’s moronic and racist Mickey, an utter loser who’s simultaneously a chilling, laissez faire killer, has surprising moments of black humor.
Mando lends Garza a degree of humanity and compassion you don’t normally see in drug lords; Dale roots his beleaguered cop who’s dealing with pressure both at home and at work, in reality. Jasper Jones’ and Kaylee Curry’s star-crossed lovers are quite tragic.
Melissa Leo and Graham Greene are two of America’s finest character actors, and bring the goods, and George Carroll’s tender portrayal of sidekick Ty raises him far above standard sidekick material.
“King Ivory,” like “Ben Is Back” (2018, about opioid addiction) illustrates the terrifying degree to which fentanyl has become an epidemic in the United States. There’s no sign of it stopping, either. A key character laments that law enforcement can’t put a dent in it, due to the web of symbiotic relationships, where everyone is ultimately dependent on the drug in one way or another.
As Holt educates West during a prison visit, “The cartels want your kids, the next generation, who want what is new, and fentanyl is new.”
‘King Ivory’
Director: John Swab
Starring: Ben Foster, James Badge Dale, Melissa Leo, Graham Greene, Rory Cochrane
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 14, 2025
Rating: 3 1/2 star out of 5
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