TOW 28 - The Armstrong Lie (2013)

The story starts out as a documentary recording the comeback of Lance Armstrong in 2009, but after Armstrong was caught for the doping scandal in 2009 director Alex Gibney demanded an explanation. Opening with Armstrong's interview with Oprah in 2013 in which he admitted to using a variety of banned-substances throughout his career, the movie tracks back into his career. Armstrong was constantly accused of doping, and he fervently denied any association with drugs, viciously attacking any who said otherwise. Armstrong burned bridges with colleagues and alienated himself from thousands who believed his guilt, but his experience with cancer made him a saint: people were willing to look past his supposed misconduct because he was a symbol for overcoming crippling odds. Eventually Armstrong was caught. His reasons for doping were justified. His reason for lying was not.

(http://www.impawards.com/2013/thumbs/sq_armstrong_lie.jpg)

The unique narrative structure of this film allowed Gibney to play off the audience's emotions while impartially narrating Armstrong's complex choices. By opening with the Oprah interview, a traumatic moment for the dedicated fans and even the dogmatic accusers, Gibney is foreshadowing that his movie will be emotionally draining. This movie will holistically look at the facts no matter how upsetting they may be. It goes back to explain the history for anyone unaware of what happened, with occasional recent interviews detailing what really was happening. As the chronology goes on and the story becomes closer to the present, Armstrong isn't necessarily relatable, but it is more understood why he did what he did.

Gibney's use of testimony provides credibility to the why Armstrong was cheating and also adds a feeling of indignation from the viewers that he did it for this long and lied about it. The interviews showed that everyone was doping and the only way to truly compete was to join in. The witnesses also showed that some of these people knew what was happening, spoke out, and Lance shot them down. This use of testimony can be interpreted as a hint at Gibney's feelings of hurt but also his slight empathy towards Armstrong.

Overall this movie demonstrated a specific person's history that was so twisted it highlighted the prevalent infamy in a renowned sport. It also exemplifies that nothing is black and white, judging someone without fully understanding their situation is never an accurate perception.