'The Program' review: Ben Foster's turn as disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is worth a watch

Film: The Program
Director: Stephen Frears
Cast: Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Dustin Hoffman, Jesse Plemons, Lee Pace
Rating: ***

What it's about

We all know the story. Of an American hero who conquered the Tour de France. Who survived testicular cancer. Who was an inspiration to many. Who battled allegations of doping through most of his cycling career. Who steadfastly held that he had never been found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. Then retired. About the Irish sports journalist who relentlessly pursued the question: how did someone who didn't have the physiology or the history to win the Holy Grail of cycling races end up winning seven titles? How did everybody feign ignorance? Or consistently look the other way?

And how his castle of lies came tumbling down with one upset after another. How the champion we once knew and loved was just a cheat. How he confessed to Oprah that he had cheated.

It's all in the public domain. So spoilers or not, don't pretend you don't know the story.

What's hot

It's Ben Foster's 'vehicle' all the way. The film serves as a showcase for his histrionics. The actor is a treat to watch for anyone who grew up in the heydays of Lance Armstrong's career and was taken in by his easy charm. The supporting cast is superb as well, especially Jesse Plemons, who plays Lance's one-time compatriot Floyd Landis, who becomes the plan that brings down the King. Chris O'Dowd as the Irish journalist David Walsh asks all the right questions and you gotta love John Hodge's adaptation of Walsh's book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong, on which the screenplay of this film is based. However, the photography and editing departments are the champions of this piece.

What's not

This is far from Frears' best work. While the director is brilliant at painting Lance's complex contradictions in broad strokes, he provides no justification. We never learn why Lance is the way he is. No flashbacks to his childhood, no reason he changes a persistent stand to a weak confession at the end of his career. By comparison, Landis has a stronger graph. We're shown where he comes from, what drives him and his decisions and what brings him down eventually. It's Walsh's word against Lance's and that's always going to make the film feel a little biased.

What to do

It's worth one viewing if you haven't heard about the man, and even if you haven't. The film has bark, one only wishes it had more bite.