Review of The Armstrong Lie (2013) by Trailesque — 14 Mar 2023

Here is another excellent documentary from Alex Gibney, focusing on one of our era's most fascinating morality tales. I saw another film that was much harsher in its assessment of the great cyclist and cheater Lance Armstong.

Gibney had a lot of access to his subject, and his viewpoint is more nuanced. We can see that Armstrong is a complicated man, and that while he clearly lied and connived and meted out revenge to some, he was also a positive presence in many people's lives, and he has done some wonderful charity work.

Also, it is important to remember that while Lance was admittedly using banned substances and practices, so was pretty much every other cyclist - they really were all doing it. The film sets out to cover his 2009 attempt at a Tour de France comeback, and ends up doing that and a lot more.

As always with Gibney's work, there is some great footage and excellent interviews to take in.