By: debbie lynn elias
It’s no lie when I tell you THE ARMSTRONG LIE is a powerful piece of filmmaking; an absolutely riveting, compelling and beyond fascinating look into the mindset of Lance Armstrong. With THE ARMSTRONG LIE, documentarian Alex Gibney brings us a tale that has needed telling and not as a means to further exploit on Armstrong’s misconduct and untruths, but to help everyone understand them – and there is much to understand. As we all know, Lance Armstrong is the most glorified – and now most vilified – cycling star to emerge on the scene in the past 100 years. But as we also now know, in attaining that glory, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency he “conducted the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program sport has ever seen”, resulting in him being stripped of all seven Tour de France titles and forcing the return of his Olympic gold medal.
Alex Gibney is himself also a victim of Lance Armstrong. Originally intending to document Armstrong’s 2009 comeback to cycling after a 2005 retirement, as swirling rumors turned into legal allegations as to Armstrong’s “doping” with performance enhancing drugs, Gibney himself questioned Armstrong for “the truth.” To Gibney’s face, Armstrong vehemently denied all allegations of doping. But then the other shoe dropped and what could have and should have been a triumph for Armstrong and proved an exhilarating documentary for cycling enthusiasts and Armstrong fans, crashed mid-race. Gibney hung up the camera while Armstrong should have hung his head in shame.
As time passed and disclosures became known, Armstrong’s lies ate away at “Gibby”. He wanted the truth. He was owed the truth. He was owed an apology. And so he picked up his camera and shifted the focus of what he had intended to do with this documentary, giving us history, backstory and various viewpoints and confessions from doctors, dopers, fellow cyclists and Armstrong himself. But is it enough? That’s for each of us to decide on viewing.
A deeply introspective look into not only Lance Armstrong but the world of cycling, Alex Gibney presents a very balanced and honest portrayal not only of the myth that is Lance Armstrong, but the man. Clear and concise in his styling and narrative, Gibney cuts through the ambiguity of the situation and clarifies the situation, the legality/illegality of the doping at different stages of Armstrong’s career, but then allows each of us to render our own verdict on the fraud perpetrated and perpetuated by Armstrong. But, whom did he defraud? Us, himself, or both? And Gibney provides the information that allows for our individual moral compasses to vilify or forgive or understand.
The interviews are telling and balanced and incorporate different aspects of the cycling world. Particularly commanding and eliciting compassion is Gibney’s final interview with Armstrong, a few months post-Oprah. Armstrong emotes almost an embarrassment as he confesses his lies to “Gibby” over the years. It’s touching and definitely evokes empathy on this personal stage as opposed to the Oprah stage.
The individual interviews and the various perspectives are informative and interesting, yet no one vilifies Armstrong like Betsy Andreu. She is a vitriolic bitch from hell. Her own husband was doping yet she’s oblivious to that and just wants to condemn. Unfortunately, where Gibney falters in the documentary is by the omission of interviews with prosecutors and investigators to shed a clearer light on the legal ramifications of why one entity chooses not to go after Armstrong in court yet the Anti-Doping agency does but elects to do it under RICO statutes and mail fraud. I found those areas of the documentary to be open-ended weak links.
Most appreciative in the documentary’s structure is that Gibney succinctly lays everything out, allowing Armstrong, his team doctor Michele Ferrari, fellow cyclists Reed Albergotti and Frankie Andreu, and others to state what they believe to be the obvious – the playing field was always level. Everyone was doping. There was no advantage for any cyclist. However, was doping illegal? Yes. But, how can you declare something illegal when you don’t even have the means to test for it, as it was in the early days? We see clearly that the playing field was indeed level and that Armstrong did win those races be it with performance enhancers or not. The double standards that we see emerge, however, are to a degree somewhat shocking when viewed in conjunction with the level of hypocrisy in the witch hunt to let the air out of Armstrong’s tires.
Gibney’s camera paints a textured portrait of Armstrong – the good, the bad, the ugly and the dopey. We see his daughters and their obvious love for daddy. We see his solitude, his joy and the pain on his face and within his body as he struggles. If we look carefully, body language, especially with Armstrong’s eyes, give tell-tale hints of untruths, and the very nature of his vehement denials is telling as to underlying hidden secrets….. and we see a degree of shame. The documentary has subtleties and nuance and at the same time, captures the beauty and spirit of competition, of Armstrong’s fight against cancer (one has to wonder if the brain cancer and surgeries didn’t alter his perceptions in some way; similarly, the experimental chemo treatment he endured. One has to believe that it does affect the head and mind, not to mention just Armstrong surviving stage 4 metastisized cancer)
Wonderful editing with archival materials, personal photos and videos of Armstrong (including those that depict a very ill and emaciated Armstrong at the peak of his cancer ravaged body and treatment protocol), news and sporting news and reports, and then Gibney’s own lensing for the originally conceived 2009 documentary taking the camera along on the critical legs of that Tour de France. Pedaling along at a quick and powerful clip, the colors, the beauty, the field of yellow sunflowers, the blue sky and shining sun – the beauty and serenity of the cycling scene is a lovely dichotomous metaphor for the “evil” lurking beneath the golden glory.
For Americans, an interesting issue raised by THE ARMSTRONG LIE is the sponsoring of Armstrong and his old team by the US Postal Service, begging the questions of (1) Why is a “broke” quasi-governmental entity spending money to sponsor a sports team, allegedly to the tune of $100 million?, and (2) Is the current lawsuit against Armstrong by the USPS, a way of trying to make up its own spending shortfalls and poor money management?
At this juncture and outside the documentary, Armstrong has repeatedly stated to various news agencies that he will testify at any and all hearings with “100% transparency and honesty” regarding doping, but wants assurances of “fair treatment” in light of his ultimate confession to taking performance-enhancing drugs in all seven of his Tour de France wins. Other comments to come from Armstrong show remorse only as to his “massive loss of wealth while others have truly capitalized on this story.”
Is Lance Armstrong truly sorry for his “sins” and deception or do the lies continue? THE ARMSTRONG LIE is a powerful indicator of what may lie ahead. The higher they climb, the harder they fall.
Written and Directed by Alex Gibney
