It's the lie that rode over half way around the world before the anti-doping regulators got on their bikes. Cancer survivor, seven times Tour de France winner, father, husband, philanthropist, global inspiration Lance Armstrong denied, concealed and bullied his way into legend in the space of a decade.
The first Tour win after coming back from brink seemed incredible. The six subsequent triumphs seemed impossible. The chance that he may do it again in his 2009 comeback seemed too good to be true. The latest chapter was something documentary-maker Alex Gibney wanted to capture, on-and-off the bike. However the original, triumphant narrative was never edited together due to spectacular revelations that have emerged since. Gibney admits that five years ago he wanted to tell a hero story, supporting Lance throughout the 2009 tour, now he like so many other fans who believed in Lance's legend wanted answers.
Gibney once again shows he is a master film-maker, guiding the viewer through the motions and emotions of Lance's career from a promising youn
gster to an inspiration to everyone to a fraud who fooled the world. Gibney also takes a look at the culture of the Tour itself and how it change Lance and how Lance changed it. The result is a tale that is shocking, scary, intense, upsetting and farcically funny.
The only criticism I'd have about Gibney's film is it's completely bleak portrayal of the sport, frankly there seems to be little room left for hope for the future. Cycling has earned its reputation as one in which there are two rule-books for principle and actual, something typified by the fact that there was only one clean podium finisher during Armstrong's 7 tours. All the tour racers interviewed were convicted dopers, frankly I'd have found it refreshing to the narrative if we heard from a cyclist who had spoken out against doping due to conscious like
Christophe Bassons, his story could have really reinforced mafia sub-narrative running through the film. When it comes to reasons for doping I felt the film put too much emphasis on it being about keeping up with competitors as opposed to the overwhelming physical pressure cycling puts on the body which makes doping hard to resist.
This of course should only be seen as a minor criticism because this film is a character study rather than a documentary about sport which is the reason this film should have a wide appeal for anyone who's interested in the darker side of power and ambition.
