CAPSULE: The Program (2015, Dir. Stephen Frears)

It looks as if British director Stephen Frears has taken quite a liking to bringing hyper-factual narrative adaptations of non-fiction events to the big screen. He's the current champion of the "cinematisation" of feature articles and long form exposés. Okay, so I'm making up words here. I'm bouncing off the more recognised "novelisation" mainly because the process, though working in the opposite direction, shares a similar recycled, second tier aesthetic.

That's not to downplay the craft of The Program, John Hodge's reworking of David Walsh's book 'Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong'; after the Queen and Philomena, Frears has more than proven his adeptness at handling these re-realing productions. But with all these films, and with The Program especially, he's also made it clear he is not interested in overplaying the thematic gravitas that gives such narratives cultural importance. Frears adheres neatly, too neatly, to the "this happened" approach.

 The Program, then, allows a new audience to digest real life fodder, reheated and pre-chewed. The "how could he have gotten away with this" wonderment is unpacked and the depth of the institutional blindness is laid bare but the impact is contained. Likewise, the performances, Ben Foster's intense Armstrong in particular, deliver the lines with great effect but to no real end.

That's something the audience will have to bring for themselves.

★★★

Trailer: