The Program (II) (2015) User Reviews

Riding for a fall

[bob-the-movie-man · 8/10 · 5 November 2015]

I can see this film dividing opinion, since bike fanatics (of which the UK has a high number) will seek to pick holes in the reality of the story and staging in the same way that a locomotive fan will point out that the 4472, "Flying Scotsman" shouldn't have been in a film set in 1926! I'm not a keen cyclist, (unless you count pottering around the New Forest occasionally as 'cycling'), so I approached Stephen Frears' new biopic on disgraced superstar Lance Armstrong with some reservations. But I really enjoyed it.

Armstrong is portrayed as a massively competitive individual that won't lose at cycling or table football, and won't die (from cancer) either. The film deftly portrays how this drive for success dragged him, like quicksand, into the world of illicit doping. In fact, for much of the film, given that he mixes all of this up with fervent support for cancer charities, I ended up feeling quite sorry for the guy: someone who knows he is cheating and fooling the world but sees it as a viable means to an end. However as his lying, both about the doping and his personal past achievements, becomes more and more cringe-worthy, he becomes a pathetic figure: this is not a great PR exercise for Armstrong.

Above all, the film is a warning shot against having too much belief in overly self-confident people. There are some people who can claim wrong is right and be believed because they state the case with such vehemence and, as portrayed, Armstrong was certainly one of those. In a year of (alleged) similar sporting performances at FIFA, it's a lesson worth learning.

Armstrong is brought brilliantly to life by lookalike Ben Foster, an actor who I must admit to date has rather passed me by. This performance to me deserves a shot at an Oscar nomination. There are parts of the film where he goes all Eddie "Hawking" Redmayne, but aside from these more physical moments, check out the scene where he comes third: just jaw-droppingly effective acting, mixing incredulity and rage all on the same face at the same time. Very impressed.

Foster is backed up by a strong supporting cast: Chris O'Dowd ("Bridesmaids", "Calvary") plays the Irish journalist David Walsh, doggedly pursuing the doping story. It's a believable performance. Jesse Plemons is also great in the complex role of Floyd Landis, a fellow rider on the team who has to struggle with not only lying to the public but (more painfully) to his Pennsylvanian Amish community. Denis Ménochet ("Inglorious Basterds") is also striking as Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's coach. While getting strong billing, Dustin Hoffman is great, as always, but has little more than a cameo in the film over a couple of scenes. (And talking of random cameos (though I can't see him credited) did I spot Bond producer Michael G Wilson as Armstrong's doctor?).

The sweeping camera shots of cinematographer Danny Cohen ("Les Miserables", "The King's Speech") brings the cycling scenes to life, and are nicely melded with actual footage of the races. (Though some of the Paris green screen award-giving work is rather less convincing).

Director Stephen Frears ("The Queen", "Philomena") directs, and wisely chooses to keep the film to a compact and entertaining 103 minutes.

This has been a good year for biopics, and following the excellent "Love and Mercy" about Brian Wilson, "The Program" makes it onto my list as one of the top 10 of the year so far. Recommended.

(A graphical version of this review is also available at bob-the-movie- man.com).

Unforgiving drama that brings yet more shame to the name of Lance Armstrong

[bartonj2410 · 8/10 · 17 October 2015]

'Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat.' reads the tagline for The Program, Stephen Frears' film about the controversial and illegal route Lance Armstrong took to winning seven Tour de France titles between 1999-2005. It sure is simple yet delivers a powerful message about one of the once most iconic heroes in sport.

David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd), an Irish journalist for The Sunday Times, first meets Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) before his Tour de France debut in 1993. Impressed with his enthusiasm yet wary of his chances, Walsh predicts Armstrong will only make a minor impact in the world of cycling.

Fast forward to 1999, Armstrong has beaten testicular cancer and won the first of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, as well as launching Livestrong, a charity to help those affected by cancer. Walsh, curious of Armstrong's miraculous recovery and performances, begins to doubt the champion and embarks on a journey to uncover the truth in regards to whether Armstrong was using banned substances to enhance his performance.

With the whole world seeming to side with Armstrong, Walsh faces a lonely battle to unearth the truth and bring both justice and respect back to the sport he loves.

What struck me most about The Program was the extent of Armstrong's deception and the program he and his team imposed to both use and hide the use of performance enhancing drugs. Being a true story, I knew that he had confessed to the use of these substances, I just didn't know how he went about it. The Program was a real eye-opener for me, that's for sure.

Frears' film is precise and wastes no time in trying to paint Armstrong in any good light, in fact the film paints Armstrong in the style of Picasso, his character becoming distorted to the point where he becomes almost unrecognisable. There is no time wasting here and with Walsh's brilliantly titled book, Seven Deadly Sins, being the inspiration for the film, Frears has plenty of ammunition to play with.

The performance of Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong has to go down as one of the best of this year. For a long time, Foster has been impressing in supporting roles, even if the films aren't that good however, The Program marks the first time where Foster gets to take centre stage and he well and truly knocks it out of the park as Armstrong, very much portraying him as the villain of the piece.

There is good support from O'Dowd as the persistent Walsh, taking a step away from the comedy roles you would normally associate him with, and Jesse Plemons as Floyd Landis, a member of Armstrong's team who saw both the good and bad in what Armstrong was doing.

The editing by Valerio Bonelli and Danny Cohen's cinematography of the race sequences perfectly capture just how much of an advantage the drugs gave Armstrong and his team, a task made even more achievable with the fact that Foster was taking performance enhancing drugs while shooting the film.

Armstrong may have been shamed and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles but The Program will bring the story to a whole new audience who may know nothing about his deception. Everything he has ever achieved in sports and with his charity is all based on a lie and Frears' film really powers this home.

A solid sports drama flick.............but it's better to watch the documentaries

[gricey_sandgrounder · 7/10 · 24 February 2016]

We pretty much know the story of the biggest con in sports history.

A 7-time Tour De France winner after recovering from quite severe level of testicular cancer, to be then stripped of everything he had ever achieved in the sport of cycling due to the use of performance- enhancing drugs.

With all that being said, what could this movie do to give us something different to be excited about?

We have director Stephen Frears (Philomena, Dirty Pretty Things, The Queen) exploring the biggest rise and fall probably by anyone in the history of the world.

I'm afraid that despite the solid pace to it, good performances and pleasing visuals, this only really skimmed the surface of the entire story.

Ben Foster plays Armstrong and it is quite un-nerving how much his likeness is uncanny to the man himself. He was a strong lead and definitely made this film watchable and interesting. Chris O'Dowd as hounding sports journalist David Walsh was solid. But I felt he was massively under-used. I think the makers of the film could have better by going down the route 'Rush' did by having two big characters facing-off throughout the feature. All the performances were fine and noticeable in terms of down- grading the film. The only stand-out worth mentioning was Jesse Plemon's portrayal of Armstrong's main team- mate Floyd Landis. He had moments that got me engaged and made it interesting viewing. One casting choice that I was confused about, was the addition of Dustin Hoffman as we see very little of him. Someone that big in the film industry should not be part of a film if he is going to be in there for very short amounts.

The race scenes look well made. Cinematography is a big high point in the film, especially in the opening scene. And finally, the soundtrack fits in the well with the story despite not being quite a captivating one for re-listening.

However, I cannot ignore the safe route this film went. It always went over the important issues quite casually and quickly went on the next one. It seems Frears wanted to throw too much into film and forgot to focus on keeping one angle to the story. I really felt we should have seen more of the journalist pursuing the star type of film which would have made it a great and enjoyable watch.

Connecting to the film was hard as well. It reminded me of The Wolf Of Wall Street as we are trying to connect with a guy we know has bone really bad things. But unlike the Martin Scorsese flick, the style of film-making is nothing remarkable, just passable.

It is still a well-acted drama flick. For those people that don't know a lot about the story, they will get the most enjoyment out of it. But if you want to a good film about Lance Armstrong and how he became the man he is today, watch the two film documentaries 'The Armstrong Lie' and 'Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story'. They both go into much more detail on how big of an idiot Armstrong is.

Good movie but......

[goreilly40 · 7/10 · 7 January 2018]

As a sports fan, this movie involving one of the darkest scandals in its history was something I had to see. Having watch it, I can say I enjoyed it but felt as though it could have been better and the story could have had more depth to it. Ben Foster is nothing short of a revelation in his portrayal of the controversial figure of Lance Armstrong and his many faces, the public charismatic sportsman and champion in the fight against cancer to the behind the scenes ruthless bully who threatened to destroy anyone or anything who got in his way. Likewise Chris O'Dowd as the journalist David Walsh who steadfast refused to give into intimidation and didn't allow himself to be fooled by the deception. Jesse Plemons performance as the conflicted Floyd Landis who played a key role in the investigation was also a positive for the movie, likewise Dustin Hoffman as Bob Hamman.

One issue I had with the movie was the skimming over of a few key events. Not the cycling as such, but the USADA investigation which would expose the extent of Armstrong's cheating, Armstrong's legal attempts to block it, and the death threats issued to those involved were covered almost as an after thought near the end of the movie, this should've been given more time in the movie as it was a key element in the whole affair.

One frustrating aspect of this movie was almost the complete omission of two key players in the story, Greg LeMond, the ex-TDF winner who was almost ruined by Armstrong because he dared to speak out against him, and Travis Tygart, the head of the USADA investigation which ultimately exposed the doping scandal, who as previously mentioned was subjected to a number of death threats, were barely mentioned. Considering the part they played in the whole saga, this was a big error on the part of the movie.

This movie was enjoyable and fascinating, but I felt it was partially undermined by skimming over several key events and the omission of some key people.

An interesting, if not plain, biopic

[themadmovieman · 7/10 · 19 October 2015]

This is a pretty interesting biopic, with strong performances across the board and a pretty engaging story. However, it's nothing particularly outstanding, due to its evident holding back against really going after Armstrong. Yes, this is still a pretty scathing story, but it still all feels far too plain and simple, and there's never any real gusto in the writing to make you passionately dislike Armstrong, which the movie is trying to do.

But before we get into that, let's look at the most impressive part of this film, which are the performances. Ben Foster, as Lance Armstrong, is brilliant, and often terrifying and hateful to the extent that you really want the movie to show you, and without him doing such a good job in the role, this film would have been at a loss, given his incredible acting.

In the side role as the journalist determined to take Armstrong down, Chris O'Dowd is also pretty good. It's not a world-beating performance that makes you want to whole-heartedly will the man onto revealing Armstrong's lies, but he is a likable character, and one of the only ones that can firmly support in the whole film.

The way that this film tells the history of Armstrong's deception is also very interesting. Although it's all in recent memory for most of us, there's still a lot of information here that you didn't know about, particularly revolving around the inner workings of Armstrong's United States Postal Service team and how he was the ring leader in the world of doping in cycling.

However, that's about it. This film is definitely interesting and well-acted, but it's not an outstanding, memorable biopic. It feels more like reading a very interesting textbook cover-to-cover, full of fascinating information, but with no real high drama or emotion to fully show the significance of what's going on, and to really pull you into the story rather than just observing it.

Lacks Punch

[gregsrants · 6/10 · 20 September 2015]

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is a liar. An egomaniac. A delusional celebrity. A jerk. But he's also a cancer survivor and was an inspiration to thousands before the house of cards eventually came tumbling down. In The Program, director Stephen Fears (The Queen, Philomena) explores Armstrong's rise to fame through his historic seven Tour de France victories and the investigation into doping that eventually lead to his downfall. Ben Foster (Lone Survivor, The Mechanic) plays Armstrong. The likeness is a bit uncanny. We watch as a young Armstrong heads to France for the first time as a young cycler who couldn't keep up with the European teams that were eventually caught doping. Armstrong is so determined to become the best in the sport that he solicits the help of known dope doctor Michele Ferrari (Guillaume Canet). But when Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer, the career takes a small backstep during his recovery. The sidelines made Armstrong even more determined and within a year he and Ferrari were testing new drugs and new methods of cheating which including blood doping – the injection of oxygenated blood into an athlete before an event in an attempt to enhance athletic performance. The results were outstanding and Armstrong was not only beating the competition but destroying them. This catches the eye of sports reporter David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) who is convinced that Armstrong is less the Superman that people make him out to be and more the product of good chemistry and science. But Walsh is alone in his pursuit of the truth. His publisher is skeptical and his peers alienate Walsh after Armstrong uses his celebrity power to sue and alienate all those associated with a reveal of the truth. Enter one, Floyd Landis (Jesse Plemons of Breaking Bad fame). Floyd is a wide-eyed teammate of Armstrong who immediately tows the line and dopes in an effort to maintain his place within the team. But when Floyd is revealed to have doped after a failed drug test, the wheels begin to come off the Armstrong entourage. Floyd is conflicted with his past and eventually comes clean with the media which only further drops Armstrong's star. The film ends with Armstrong's famous Oprah Winfrey interview where he reveals that he lied and cheated during all 7 Tour wins. The Program is a showcase for Foster who is spectacular in the lead role. O'Dowd too is impressive as the hounding reporter. But the film as a whole fails to do much else than skim the surface. The documentary The Armstrong Lie goes into detail on just how big of an asshole Armstrong was. He threatened wives of teammates calling them 'whores' and 'drunks' on record. He threatened and sued newspapers, lied while being a guest speaker at many black tie events and misrepresented his own charity. The Program only slightly details these facts. It casually brings them up or has quick scenes showing the depth of Armstrong's depravity. But Fears throws too much into the film without focusing on one story. He could have focused on Armstrong's deplorable character. Or made the film a reporters pursuit of the truth. Instead the kitchen sink of a very detailed story is thrown at viewers and it fails to resonate in a way that it should. Armstrong was a fraud. The entire world was duped and we should be angry and reminded of that anger during this biopic. Instead we get more of a movie-of-the-week style of film that fails to dive deep into the conspiracy and show all the scars left in its wake. Still, for those not fully up-to-date in the Armstrong story, The Program is a well-acted entry into the rise and fall. It's just a very involving one.

Falls short of its potential but still mostly entertaining.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 7/10 · 24 October 2015]

On paper, the life of Lance Armstrong lends itself to a cinematic interpretation quite nicely, but The Program, Stephen Frears' restless, showy Armstrong biopic, feels undercooked and premature. Though Ben Foster's Armstrong jokes about Hollywood's plan for a movie about his life (complete with smirky mispronunciations of Jake Gyllenhaal), his against-the-odds underdog tale was never going to be the more compelling film compared to the true story. It's a small mystery as to why Frears decides to play the first half hour of The Program in such a headspace, urging us to cheer for an idealized version of the famed cyclist despite the inevitable mess that awaits us just around the corner. Such an unnecessary sprawl as we turn through a run-of-the-mill rise-through-the-ranks before the downfall is unkind to detail; instead, it feels like a compromise to make the whole thing go down easier for those unaware of the controversy, and thus the film is probably not quite as invested in the scandals in the first place.

Though The Program is clumsy in its execution and handling of loaded material, it nails its depiction of key moral dilemmas surrounding not just Armstrong's doping scandal that eventually stripped him of his professional accolades–including his seven Tour de France titles– but also effectively ended his athletic career with a worldwide ban from most competitive sports. If Chris O'Dowd's journalist, David Walsh, takes down Lance Armstrong, which he spends the majority of the film trying to do, he's taking down not only massive and respectable cancer charities associated with Armstrong, but also the integrity of the sport itself. The film acknowledges that most cyclists were doping at the time, but it tries to shave down its theme to that point while ignoring juicier social commentary regarding our misguided hero worship culture and how we react to the controversies. There's a lot of meat to chew on that remains untouched on the plate, but perhaps Frears already felt his hands full up with a narrative that's far more focused on the interplay between Armstrong and the man determined to expose his skeletons.

As Armstrong, Foster has the drive, the resemblance, and he can balance light and dark in a way that fits the conflicted tone of the man in reality and the fictionalized version of him. It's a shame, for the most part, that Foster tries too hard for too little payoff, almost desperately searching for Oscar clips, but it's John Hodge's screenplay that ultimately lets him down hard, indulging in trite lines that stick out. In a sense, it fits the Armstrong mantra to be over- rehearsed and only approaching an aura of naturalness, though it doesn't work for Foster. His performance here is similar to Anne Hathaway's in Les Miserables, but he's rarely offered the emotional potency to justify his tone. It's still good work, he's just operating on a different gear to everyone else when he should be leading the pack. While the tone of the film feels like easy resort, at the very least it does a good job of showing the gravity of Armstrong's actions and the gravity of Walsh's accusations.

While Foster may falter, The Program boasts a strong ensemble overall, which also includes Dustin Hoffman, Lee Pace, and Jesse Plemons. O'Dowd made his name in the tongue-in-cheek TV riot The IT Crowd, but he's hard to take seriously in dramas or comedies in both America or Britain. He consistently feels like a novelty more than a talent. Here, he's toe-to-toe with Foster and showing his dramatic potential. While he has one note to play (determined exasperation), he plays it well and pleasantly engages us. Plemons has another underused snitch role to play (to reference his brief turn in Black Mass this year) and brings that same quiet menace that made his Todd on Breaking Bad so magnetic. It's also nice to see Denis Menochet, most memorable in the opening of Inglourious Basterds, to have a meatier role spread across an entire film here as Armstrong's trainer.

Despite its shortcomings, The Program is still largely entertaining, if not enthralling, which it earnestly tries to be. The whiplash editing of its various race sequences would have worked had the film itself been gunning for a darker subtext, but they're left to hang on the screen and thrill in the moment. The film's lowest point, however, is its on-the-nose rota of soundtrack choices. It feels too needy, whereas the rest of the film can get away with what it's doing. Unfortunately, the film's narrative ends far too early. Anyone who has seen Alex Gibney's excellent The Armstrong Lie knows that there's an extra side to the story, and a compelling third act that The Program isn't interested in digging through. In fairness, it's not trying to be "that movie," but what it does dramatize is mostly good enough.

7/10

Read more @ Serving Cinema (http://www.servingcinema.com/)

Okay, but a missed opportunity.

[sacha_brady · 6/10 · 17 January 2016]

Understandably, the film had to be about Lance Armstrong from start to finish for commercial reasons, but having watched it I felt the film would have been so much more powerful if it had been completely told from Floyd Landis' perspective as long as the same character- led approach was taken by the director instead of a narrative-led one.

I have some knowledge of the Tour de France in the period depicted as well as the environment of the time, although I'm no expert. Time limitations mean that films have no choice but to leave out key moments, but my enjoyment and appreciation of the film was tarnished by the fact that so much of the context is compromised in favour of a sole focus on the personage of Lance Armstrong.

The film lacks drama due to ignoring the mounting suspicion that followed him throughout his reign and the fact that much of the public already doubted him, not least the French, which he had to face wherever he went. What went into that is much more fascinating than the story given, of a man who found a pharmacist and then hid it.

I also feel that the film fails in its primary goal: giving you an insight into Lance Armstrong. Evidence suggests he was far more single-minded and almost psychopathic than the film allows us to see. Either do a character study on Lance Armstrong or tell a story of his rise and fall. This film tries to do both and succeeds in neither in my view.

The film's worth watching if you're particularly interested in Lance Armstrong. If not, there are many far better movies to explore. This comes across like a made-for-TV drama. It's sad because I really like Lee Pace. I'd far recommend watching "The Armstrong Lie" instead.

Biopic of Lance Armstrong that is rather good

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 6/10 · 9 March 2016]

This is the story of Lance Armstrong and is based on the book by journalist David Walsh called "Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong". Walsh worked for The Sunday Times and is played by the brilliant Chris O'Dowd in the film. Walsh was one of the few who questioned the phenomenal rise of Armstrong from mediocre hill climber to King of the mountains and unbeatable in The Tour de France.

Now the story is full of lies and deceit and evil doings and as such you would think it was full of Machiavellian twists – but no; it seems a bit flat to be honest. The story is interesting but seems to lack the oomph moments to bring it to anything approaching a dramatic crescendo.

I think half the problem is that we all know the story by now and so there is not that much to reveal and we have already gotten truly over our initial shock and disgust at what was a crime the perpetuated for years and corrupted so many – so called- athletes. Having said all that I really enjoyed it. Ben Foster puts in an excellent performance as the duplicitous Armstrong and was even convincing in the cancer bits and the double dealing lies. So one that rises from being above 'ok' but do not expect to be blown away.

to be seen on Lifetime

[vistheindian · 4/10 · 23 November 2015]

Quickie Review:

Obsessed with winning the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) uses performance enhancing substances to gain the edge. Meanwhile, sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) convinced of the doping conspiracy starts to gather evidence to expose Armstrong. The Program, is an underwhelming retelling of the one of the biggest drug scandals in sports history. Admittedly the actor's performances are good, and the movie overall is shot well. However, the script and the story telling are to the quality of what you might expect from an average TV documentary re-enactment.

Full Review:

Considering the high profile nature of the scandal, I was surprised that The Program wasn't marketed more. I never saw the trailers in the cinemas and when I brought up that I was going to watch this movie in the weekend I was immediately asked by everyone "What's that?" After watching the film it's clear to me that even the studio lacked confidence in the final product.

Few as they may be, there are certainly some redeeming things about The Program. The lead actor Ben Foster gave a solid performance, at a certain point I didn't see him anymore and only saw Lance. Which probably is the biggest compliment I'll give to this movie. I also enjoyed seeing the whole doping operation, it was meticulous and systematic. I really got the sense of the lengths that Lance and his team went to achieve their goals. Although it is definitely disgraceful, I must admit I was rather impressed by how for so long they got away with it all. So I commend the filmmakers for pulling off that aspect of the story. As for the rest of the story, there's more to be desired.

You couldn't ask for better true story material for a sports drama. There was huge potential here, but all of it is lost because of the paint by the numbers approach to the film. Rather than concentrating on a singular character and see them transform over the course of the movie, The Program opts to also give significant spotlight to David Walsh and Floyd Landis (Jesse Plemons). This causes the movie to lose focus with each change. The structure of movie made it blatantly obvious that the director and the editor prioritised showing a checklist of major events in Lance's life rather than telling a coherent story. An example of this false priorities was the introduction of Lance's wife. The whole segment of them meeting lasts for about 45 seconds, we get a quick look at a wedding, and that's it, we never see her again for the rest of the movie. That small segment was just there to show Lance got married at one point. It felt completely unnecessary, instead I would love to have seen how this whole operation affected his relationships and friendships.

The Program, is a movie that no-one knows about and unfortunately will be a forgettable experience for the ones who do watch it. I think if I had caught this as a re-enacted documentary on TV, I'd be really impressed. However when it comes to biographically movies in cinemas it just doesn't hold up to the standard set by recent movies such as The Social Network or Selma for example.

Lance Armstrong dopes his way to the top

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 10 February 2021]

Sports journalist David Walsh (an excellent performance by Chris Dowd) smells a rat after cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong (superbly played with steely conviction by Ben Foster) rebounds from the disease and keeps winning the Tour de France over and over again. Walsh rightfully suspects that Armstrong is using performance-enhancing drugs, but has a hard time convincing his colleagues about it.

Director Stephen Frears keeps the gripping story moving along at a constant pace as well as maintains a serious probing tone throughout. John Hodge's tough script not only covers in fascinating detail how exactly Armstrong pulled off his bold doping program, but also points out how Armstrong used his fame and power to get away with it for so long.

Foster totally nails Armstrong: Arrogant, charismatic, and ruthlessly driven, Armstrong was basically a narcissistic sociopath who was bound and determined to win at any cost. Moreover, the are sturdy supporting contributions from Jesse Plemons as the conflicted Floyd Landis, Guillaume Canet as the unscrupulous Dr. Ferrari, Denis Menchet as pragmatic team director Johan Bruyneel, and Dustin Hoffman as cagey risk insurer Bob Hamman. A solid and satisfying film.

solid acting and functional

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 May 2016]

It's 1993 and Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) is in his first Tour in France. Irish sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) is both following and rooting for the competitive new American wonderboy. After initial losses, he and his teammates start using enhancements. The team starts winning but then he's diagnosed with cancer. After his tiring treatments, he gets help from Dr. Michele Ferrari who is experimenting outside the ethical lines. Bill Stapleton (Lee Pace) organizes the deal with US Postal. Walsh starts to suspect that something is amiss. God-fearing Floyd Landis (Jesse Plemons) is hired to help Armstrong and he takes over after Lance. Betsy Andreu recounts a moment with Armstrong and her husband. Armstrong decides to defend against his detractors by attacking them.

Despite the great actors and solid work, this still has a biopic feel in the structure of the movie. It follows the story faithfully. The truthfulness seems to be there. Ben Foster does nice work inhabiting the role although I'm not sure if it dives into his mind enough. It would be helpful to add something from before his Tour and doping life. Walsh's crusade is more compelling. The second half of the movie is more compelling. It is generally missing the drama and the thrills. I'm also not certain if this gets any special insight into Armstrong's character. It's a functional biopic but the material is ready for much more.

Ego, Fraud, Dope

[ferguson-6 · 5/10 · 18 March 2016]

Greetings again from the darkness. The fallen king. The disgraced idol. We expect there to be more to the story of Lance Armstrong, but the bottom line is really pretty simple. Lance Armstrong is a liar. Lance Armstrong is a fraud. The movie offers little in the way of excuses or explanations, and you'll likely think even less of Armstrong after the movie … if that's even possible.

Ben Foster turns in a nice performance and is believable as Lance the cyclist, Lance the teammate, and Lance the doper. But even Foster can't quite capture the public façade or reach the level of deception that the real life Lance maintained for years. Chris O'Dowd is spot on as David Walsh, the sportswriter who wrote the book on which the film is based, "Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong". In fact, the movie would likely have been more interesting had it focused on Walsh's research and pursuit, rather than re-hashing the all too familiar Armstrong deceit.

Director Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity, The Grifters) works with the screenplay from John Hodge (Trainspotting) and we see how Lance battled through testicular cancer and later sought out Dr. Ferrari (Guillaume Canet) – the Godfather of blood doping. We get many shots of the familiar yellow jersey during numerous Tour de France races, and we hear Lance pontificate on what sets him apart: desire, hunger, heart and soul, and guts. Later we hear his proclamation of innocence followed by "I'm the most tested athlete on the face of the planet".

Jesse Plemons ("Breaking Bad", "Fargo") has slimmed down and plays the crucial role of Floyd Landis – a devout Mennonite, Lance teammate, and the final straw in the crumbling of an empire. It's Landis who broke "the silence around cycling", and forced an industry and the public to accept what most of us hoped against all hope wasn't true.

Armstrong's infamous "Oprah" appearance and public admission brought poignancy to his own words: "We are the authors of our life stories." Perhaps this lesson is as valuable as all the money Livestrong raised for cancer research. Picturesque Hamilton Pool in Austin makes an appearance, as do songs from The Ramones, The Fall ("Mr. Pharmacist") and Leonard Cohen. While the film is not at the level of Alex Gibney's documentary "The Armstrong Lie", it is a reminder that real life can be more dramatic and devastating than the movie version.

The Program Leans on Its Cast and an Interesting Story to Make up for a Few Things

[CANpatbuck3664 · 7/10 · 17 February 2017]

Lance Armstrong had a pretty drastic fall from grace. He was synonymous with athletes like Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Serena Williams. Then the news came out about what he had done to win those 7 Tour De Frances and his legacy crumbled overnight. It definitely seemed like an appropriate subject to do a biopic about so I remembered The Program when I got the chance to catch it on DVD. I would have thought that this movie would have got some more attention, Ben Foster has always seemed like he was one key role from being an A list star. So this was the kind of project that might get him there. The Program opened in a limited release to a decidedly mixed reception and while I'm happy to talk about it, I think I'm going to echo what other reviewers have said. This is an absorbing story of betrayal and deception but the movie seemed very eager to tell it's own version of events instead of presenting a more unbiased look at Lance Armstrong's story.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) is just starting out and he's meeting up with journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) to discuss his team and his chances. They bond over a game of Foosball and David is impressed with Lance. Lance is behind the curve though and is looking for an edge. This leads him to Michele Ferrari (Guillaume Canet). Ferrari is reluctant to take him on, he doesn't have the optimal body type and his requirements are below Ferrari's standards. Lance claims he'll do what it takes and when Ferrari is about to take him on and Lance begins to succeed, he gets diagnosed with testicular cancer and his fight to get to the top takes on a whole new challenge.

Ben Foster has always been underrated in the way that he's always providing solid supporting work in bigger projects. He throws a lot into his performance as Lance Armstrong. He's painted as a complete villain and Foster is up to the task, radiating arrogance and spitting venom at whoever gets in his way. I also really liked Chris O'Dowd as David Walsh, he's clearly the white knight in the movie. His character is single-minded and also arrogant but he doesn't overplay it and you get where he's coming from. I was impressed with the supporting cast: Jesse Plemons, Guillaume Canet, Denis Ménochet, Lee Pace and Dustin Hoffman all fit within the movie nicely and there wasn't a sub-par performance in the bunch.

The Program does a good job of dramatizing the story of Lance Armstrong. I had a couple of issues with how they decided to tell it (more on that later) but I remained interested in the movie throughout. If you're familiar with Lance's story even a little bit, you might know it didn't come to a clean end and the fallout was pretty severe. The movie borders on being a thriller with him hiding drugs and circumventing the regulatory bodies. You probably know how this story ends but that didn't bother me, the ending was a little anti-climactic but the movie achieved what it wanted to achieve.

The Program just had one big flaw for me. This movie picks sides almost immediately and does almost everything it can to make you hate Armstrong. I understand that there is inherent bias in everything and it's not the movie's job to present this subject like a documentary. It's based on true events, as opposed to reporting the facts. But The Program doesn't even approach being objective. I'm also saying this while largely being on The Program's side. Reports about Lance Armstrong describe his behaviour as bordering on psychotic and completely obsessive and his achievements are now tainted because of his cheating. But the guy did raise millions of dollars for cancer research and he revitalized cycling. It's okay to not be completely down the middle but you have to compensate by making an excellent film (e.g. Snowden) and for me this movie didn't hit those heights.

I would re-iterate that The Program did present an interesting story and made it dramatic enough to be entertaining. It just didn't reach high enough to hit iconic biopic status and it was a little embarrassing to what lengths they drove this movie trying to sway viewer opinion. I think they would have been better served diving deeper into Lance's motivations and showing the complete picture around his life. With that said, this was still worth a watch to see Ben Foster giving it his all and learning some of the finer points around Armstrong's story.

Not dissapointment, not enough neighter

[gokselll · 7/10 · 9 June 2019]

Of course, it's a respectable effort to documentise a (true) fraud story by the art of cinema. And of course, Stephen Frears has a brilliant cinema carrier. However, eventhough the film was not boring or tasteless, it presented lack of real Frears aesthetic and generally, directing of photography was far away from a satisfying experience for me.

Th Outline

[paul2001sw-1 · 6/10 · 25 May 2020]

The story of Lance Armstrong is both amazing and horrific, but it's unclear what purpose was in Stephen Frears's mind when turning it into a film. The story was, after all, one we all watched live as it was happening; and then saw again, with the missing bits filled in, in numerous documentaties and interviews when he finally came clean. 'The Program' reconstructs all this, but Ben Foster in the lead role struggles with his accent and also fails to fully capture Armstrong's intensity; the plot is pretty much accurate but necessarily schematic. Armstrong is a hard man to like, and the film fails to add much depth to his media self-presentation. Perhaps because of this, it spends quite a lot of time with his former protege Floyd Landis; and one wonders if a film centred on the latter might not in fact have given more freedom to explore the subject and develop characters freer of the bonds of Armstrong's too-well established personal narrative. As it is, Frears has produced a film the Guardian called "efficient"; but less efficient, and less emotionally engaging, than the documentary treatments the subject has been given elsewhere.

A look behind the glamour of the Tour de France – and it ain't pretty

[manders_steve · 7/10 · 29 November 2015]

Documentary type films about recent events have the challenge of showing something more than just detail that confirms or denies long held suspicions. This film about Lance Armstrong's winning the Tour de France for a record seven times, and all the assistance from sports medicine he and his US Postal Service team mates sought and mostly willingly received, easily meets that challenge, from two dimensions. First, it provides a clear and candid view into the team buses, sports medicine clinics and sports anti-doping agencies that are the prime locations for what went on, and most likely still does in many parts of professional sport.

But real strength comes is in the new insights from the story of David Walsh, the Irish journalist who doggedly follows the story for the best part of a decade, and the media interests who back him despite the lack of evidence of substance.

I found the cycling scenes convincing, as a recreational and occasional commuter cyclist, and TV viewer of the Tour de France. Ben Foster looks remarkably like Armstrong and inhabits both the physical cycling but even more so the dramatic and narrative parts of the show. It captures Armstrong's presence when selling his message from his cancer experiences, when promoting the Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer (LiveStrong) and his unshakable demonstration of his own self belief.

The important members of the supporting cast were strong, including Chris O'Dowd as journalist David Walsh who first suspects all is not as it appears, and Jesse Plemons as Floyd Landis, cycling team mate who finally decided to tell all to authorities when Armstrong failed to provide support in return for all Landis did for Armstrong on and off their bikes. But to me the standout was Guillaume Canet as Dr Michele Ferrari, the medical intellect behind 'The Program'.

The film isn't comfortable viewing – I found it quite disturbing for all the hard-nosed opportunism and lack of regard for reasonable fair play. This sense is probably underscored by the largely one sided story telling that telegraphs where it is seeking to go from the start. There is no attempt to present other perspectives, explanations or try to unravel the moral complexities. But the film at 1 hr 43 min is a comfortably taut length for the ground it covers, and adding more dimensions could have upset that balance.

about a myth

[Kirpianuscus · 11 February 2016]

it is not a great movie.because it presents only the skin of events. because it propose only a sketch of triumph and fall of Lance Armstrong. and more than a case, it is picture of classic story of a perfect image without essence. Ben Foster does a magnificent role and that fact saves many scenes. but it is far to be enough. the importance of film is to be useful support for the memories about a hero who becomes only a liar. for remind a career who was a huge fraud. but the story seems have not roots. a lot of silhouettes, a fight for truth, an egocentric man who escapes from cancer and becomes the hero of entire world, a myth who is so perfect than must remains real for the public. but something missing. and this is the detail who transforms it in only sketch of a drama.

Flat territory

[thechair · 6/10 · 7 April 2016]

Say what you like about cycling cheat Lance Armstrong, but he is weird and a c*ck. But okay, let's admit that he's also an intriguing figure: a cheat and a bully but one who first beat cancer and then devoted part of his life to raising money to fight it worldwide; and then there's that odd drive to win at all costs. A film covering all this should make for a winning one but The Program misses out on the yellow jersey. Ben Foster does excellent Lance i.e. he comes off as unlikeable, creepy and driven; it's the narrative that lets the air out of the tyres. Much of the story is taken from the exposing book by Times journalist David Walsh, and it might have been better to make this a two-hander a la Frost/Nixon, perhaps with a focus on the chasing Walsh (Chris O'Dowd), but Stephen Frears' (The Queen, Philomena) film jumps uneasily from character to character, mashing styles and tones like a peloton with BMXs and Choppers dropped into it. Depending on the scene we are in either a sports film, a fly-on- the-wall drama or a 1980s thriller, complete with Dynasty-style rants and hackneyed journo stuff. It feels old-fashioned and, for lack of a better word, bitty. Foster makes it worth a watch and his arc remains an intriguing one but you are better off catching Alex Gibney's documentary The Armstrong Lie if you want see this story told.

Check out thechairreviewsmovies.wordpress.com or the chair on medium.com for more elegant appraisals.

A psychologically interesting story of sport history made into a great movie

[knutwimberger · 7/10 · 28 February 2016]

The Program (2015)

A grand movie; superb acting, in particular by Norman Foster. I knew Armstrong only by name from the news not being particularly interested in competitive cycling or watching sports at all. But this movie tells the amazing story of a fanatic win-at-all-cost athlete, entrepreneur and PR magician, who manages to divert the attention of the general public and much of the media world by covering up his drug abuse with a social cause: how to blame somebody for doping if he is a major spokesperson for cancer relief and cycling as a trendy sports? The movie made me think of Wag the Dog.

On a psychological level there is another aspect in the movie, which makes it worthwhile: What drove Armstrong to go at literally such length in every aspect of his biography? the races, the titles, the doping, the lying, the egocentric abuse of his teammates, etc. Is this just the story of an outstanding personality like Alexander the Great, Napoleon or Hitler or does the director question the ethical and moral makeup of Armstrong's particular personality?

Armstong's psychological motivation can be certainly understood as the central question of the movie, which installs not only an Irish journalist as main opponent, but also Armstrong's long time teammate Floyd, who struggles emotionally with the committed deceit and fraud. The righteous go to heaven, the unrighteous to hell. This Mormon quote, which Floyd recalls during his struggles to accommodate his behavior and his value system, turns into an ethic red line and one must wonder why Armstrong crossed this line so many times, demonstrating a moral world which is very different from the mainstream Western-Christian one It is generally said that the Western world puts truth above all (you shall not lie), the Eastern and in particular the Chinese world face or reputation (给面子－丢面子 | give face - loose face). Armstrong would be still in possession of all this titles if he had participated in a Tour de Chine instead of the Tour de France.

Not bad, but a bit boring, because the actual facts and documentary about the doping fraud are much more fascinating than this movie.

[imseeg · 4/10 · 8 August 2019]

I wonder what's the point of watching this movie, when the real story, portrayed in the news and in a fascinating documentary is much more exciting. Director Stephen Frears isnt a great drama director and although this doping affair has lots of drama, it cant be found in this movie. The documentary " Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story", is much more riveting and shocking than Stephen Frear's version of the doping scandal.

It is not a bad movie, it is just a bit boring. Better watch the fascinating, shocking documentary " Stop at nothing", which shows in great detail a side of Lance Armstrong that is truly scary, because this man has lied to hundreds of millions of people, right into their face. The evil schemes with which he tried to silence witnesses are the most shocking part of this documentary " Stop at Nothing". None of that dramatic venom is to be found in great quantities in " The Program" though. It is definitely a bit boring. What a bummer....

Very underrated sports biopic

[peterrichboy · 8/10 · 13 March 2017]

I have been really surprised by the number of negative reviews of this movie. I've never really been a fan of cycling or the Tour De France, but I was always fascinated in how Lance Armstrong was able to cheat his way to 7 tour victories. And I think Stephen Frears has done a superb job of explaining the lengths Armstrong and his team mates went to,to beat the testers. Ben Foster is superb as Armstrong to the point I almost felt it was him, whilst Chris O Dowd is equally believable as the much maligned journalist who always new the truth. One of the best sports movies in recent memory 8/10

What would you choose to do if you get a second chance in your life.

[Reno-Rangan · 7/10 · 14 May 2016]

I think it came at the right time. The recent report says there are lots of athletes around the world from the different sports failed their doping tests. But this story sets around the 15 years ago, which was based on the real sportsperson's life story. Lance Armstrong, a cyclist from the Texas and his record breaking back to back wins at the 'The Tour de France'. The film narrates a tale that what he chose to do with the second chance of his life.

A very interesting biopic, but kind of confusing over what kind of revelation the film is. I mean whether inspiring to fight back the disease, especially what he contributed to the poor and orphan cancer patients, or cheating the game to become a fame. So what I think is it has the both positives and negatives. I liked the balanced screenplay, that is very smart for a controversial person like this.

It's like a modern 'Robinhood' tale. But here, he's not stealing from the rich, instead he cheats the game. Those tricks were unbelievable. That's not the right thing to do, but that's what he's good at. Ben Foster was amazing, I'd seen him doing lots of supporting roles, but for this he's the posterboy. This film is a great example that the lies cannot go on forever, sooner or later the justice will be done. People hate him and so this film. There are others who like him as well, but I'm neutral and people like me has to go through a hard time to rate it.

6½/10

glorifies this cheating scumbag

[afreakinsheepsclothing · 3/10 · 7 April 2020]

Too much of this tries to show his smarmy humanitarian efforts, which were clearly, to me anyway, thewre just to placate the masses regarding his true intentions.

Captivating

[Gordon-11 · 11 March 2016]

This film tells the story of the legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong, who has his rise to unimaginable heights of fame and a subsequent massive downfall due to allegations of using banned performance enhancing drugs.

The story is so gripping! Lance is portrayed to be so amicable and sympathetic at first, but then as time goes on, he becomes disillusioned and gets transformed to someone who is unrecognisable. The film presents one moral challenge after another, and it's captivating to see what the characters do and how they react in each of the challenges. How far can one go to achieve that glory, and when is luck going to run out?

I feel so sorry for Floyd and every other athlete, who works super hard but have their glory robbed from them. Even if the number twos become number one in official history books, their moment of glory is still not the same. I find "The Program" a captivating film.