Review #1,233: 'Icarus' (2017)

Say what you will about Netflix, the multi-million dollar streaming service used the world over that has come under intense scrutiny in the past year for its debatable participation in the Cannes Film Festival, but its ability to fuel water-cooler chit-chat has done wonders for the documentary genre. The 10-part true crime series Making a Murderer became a phenomenon, proving so popular that it managed to cast doubts over the guilt of its subject and on the American justice system as a whole. The service's most recent conversation-starter is Icarus, directed by amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel, which started out like a Super Size Me expose on the world of doping but evolved into something else entirely. While it certainly has its flaws, it's an astonishing tale that would have been missed by most on a limited cinema run, but in the wide-reaching hands of Netflix, it has a chance to cause a stir.

Director Fogel's only previous directorial credit is 2012's little-seen Jewtopia, a gross-out comedy which does little to suggest he is a natural fit for a crusading documentary filmmaker. But, in the early stages of Icarus, he proves himself adept chronicling his journey from amateur cyclist to doped-up competition-winner. Hoping to replicate the process adopted by the likes of exposed drug cheat Lance Armstrong, Fogel spends much of the films first half-hour injecting testosterone and God-knows-what-else into his thighs and buttocks, and hitting the gym to prepare to win a gruelling seven-day cycle across France. He seeks guidance from Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of anti-doping in Russia, who seems to know every trick in the book on how to cheat the drug tests and avoid detection by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). Yet while his tests show a huge improvement on his physical prowess, he struggles to make any impact on the race, with a huge margin remaining between him and the top 10 racers. It seems his entire documentary is crumbling around him.

Then the news breaks of Russia's participation in a doping operation that dates back decades, and Rodchenkov starts to worry for his life. When his friend and colleague dies under mysterious circumstances, Rodchenkov flees to America to turn whistle-blower, and Fogel, having formed a close friendship with the charismatic, larger-than-life filmmaker's dream, gets the scoop. The director wisely relegates himself into the background as Rodchenkov's story and personality take over, and the film takes on the tone of a thriller. It's a story you have no doubt read about in the media, but Icarus boasts the opportunity to hear it directly from the horse's mouth, and Fogel is happy to let his subject talk. Having stumbled upon a goldmine, it's a wonder why Fogel chose to keep so much of his original narrative in the movie. While his lack of vanity in accepting his failure is admirable, it would have worked better with 15 minutes or so shaved off, and the film feels baggy and overlong as a result. Still, Icarus has the ability to shock, revealing that the scandal goes all the way to the very top, and may have been employed as a politic tactic by Putin to justify his invasion of Ukraine.


Directed by: Bryan Fogel
Starring: Bryan Fogel, Grigory Rodchenkov
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie