Some quick quirky background on my interest in this film: Back in 2006, I was mesmerized and energized by Floyd Landis's amazing Tour de France comeback and win. It just felt wrong to watch him stripped of that victory. Everyone seemed so sure that he had doped; but for some reason, I didn't quite buy it. I certainly didn't want to believe it. A year or two later, my girlfriend remembered my defending Floyd and picked up a copy of his book Positively False (at a 99cent store). I read it, enjoyed it, and reviewed it. I'll quote myself: "If, in fact, this man is innocent, then what a monumental tragedy it had been to strip him of his victory and public dignity. Might it even be a larger wrong than had a guilty doper gotten away with winning a bike race?"

Anyway, to my surprise, Floyd read my review and wrote in to show his appreciation. He seemed truly moved by my review. Doping or no doping, I found his comments on his hip surgery truly inspiring, so I offered to trade him a signed copy of one of my books if he'd sign a copy of his book to my sister (who was having difficulty with her hip surgery). I sent him a signed copy of Zen Repair and the Art of Riding Chili, but, again to my surprise, I never heard from him again. This left me flummoxed, and a little embarrassed, because it left my sister hanging.

All of this resulted in an odd interest in biking, Tour de France, and the doping controversy. In fact, whenever I'd bump into local riders, I'd ask them their thoughts on Lance and Floyd and the doping issues. And their answers were always the same: of course, they all dope. I remained flummoxed. Times that by ten, when in 2010, Floyd came out with his bombshell confession and finger pointing.

Hence this film's painfully concise and potent title played all the more poignant to me. I rsvp'd to the media screening with more urgency than usual.

And now for the review: The film is fascinating. It features the classic charismatic, yet fallen hero. The filmmaker, himself, falls victim to Armstrong's spellbinding charisma and athletic ability, only to feel the sting of the lie just like everybody else. The doping revelations left the rest of us to rework our thoughts on the matter; however, director Alex Gibney was forced to rework his entire film (originally expected to be an inspirational out-of-retirement comeback story). Still, Gibney's inside access results in incredibly candid interviews with key figures including Armstrong.

It's quite worthy of viewing, even if you're not into the sport - watch it as a study in human psychology. Everyday each of us chooses between the hard way or the cheat. We make choices to preserve self, even at the expense of others. The Armstrong Lie is a cautionary tale of a man who took getting a leg up, a little too seriously.

Production shortcomings? Sure, a couple minor ones: 1) While it seems necessary and even justified in this special case, the presence of the documentarian in his own film feels awkward. 2) The production eventually focuses itself around the question: "Why did Lance choose to comeback?" - but, sadly it finds only muddled and vauge insight into those answers.

All in all - fascinating! On a personal level, I greatly appreciated this film. (And yes, I'm aware of my own hypocrisy, I am the reviewer injecting myself into my own review). That said, I think you'll be fascinated as well -- even if you didn't get an email from a dethroned Tour de France winner.

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