“Apple Cider Vinegar."

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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix) Australian drama limited series based on real life. Kaitlyn Dever and Alycia Debnam-Carey are wellness gurus Belle Gibson and Milla Blake (real life Jessica Ainscough), who both used their platforms to promote alternative medicine. 



       Ms Gibson fooled her following and the world with a fake cancer diagnosis, while Ms. Blake convinced her mother to join her in eschewing scientifically prescribed medical treatment, both of them dying from their real cancers years sooner than would otherwise be expected. 

       The series focused more on Belle Gibson as she commits fraud by pretending to have cancer in order to promote alternative medicine. She successfully launched a media empire, but soon her lies are uncovered. 

       I enjoyed the series mainly for the exemplary performance of Kaitlyn Dever, who keeps on improving on each role handed to her. Check out 2019's “Unbelievable” and 2021's “Dopesick.” The next new A-1 dramatic star, I bet. The wide range of her facial “calisthenics” heightens both rage of Belle's deceit and sympathy for her captivity in a hole that her misguided ambition brought her. 

       Special mention to Ashley Zukerman as Clive, Belle's self-sacrificing (martyr?) partner and Matt Nable as Joe, Milla's dad. You feel familial wisdom in their vulnerability beneath a macho physicality.

       I also commend the visual aesthetics, smart graphics spliced or sequenced into the narrative. I thought this series would slide into another mawkish confection. Nope. 🎥👍📽

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