Whom the Gods Would Destroy ...

This is not a 'fan' movie. This is a blunt story about The Program, the multiple measures that athletes take to, frankly, cheat.

Armstrong, his team, and many others in many other sports, used drugs, testosterone patches, packing red blood cells, cortisone, caffeine and more, in combination, to force their bodies to be more effective than they naturally were.

And more to the point, they conspired. They cheated. They lied. They covered-up. They smeared the reputations of others. They treatened the careers of those who spoke out. They were badly behaved people wrapped up in glory.

Through it all there were fortunes to be made, sponsors to be mendaciously reassured, and, in a word, corruption.

Director Stephen Frears brings us a story without melodrama, unvarnished by flashy soundtracks and hyper-emotional scenes. The Program is a story well-told. It is uncompromisingly honest without overt judgementalism. It puts the characters and their actions in front of us, shows us their conflicts with each other and themselves, and lets the audience come to their own conclusions.

This is a film worth seeing. I think there should have been a line or two explaining that The Program would result in extremes of aggressive behaviour, but that's the only criticism I have. I liked it. I recommend it. Go see it.

by Ali Kayn Australian release 26 November 2015 For credits and official site details, see below Search Festivale for more work by the film-makers below. See also:

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Just the facts: Title: The Program (2015) Written by: John Hodge (screenplay), David Walsh (book) Directed by: Stephen Frears Running time: 103 mins Rating: The Players: Ben Foster, Dustin Hoffman Official website: www.theprogrammovie.com IMDb entry For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section. For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database. For the latest additions to Festivale, check out the change history section.

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