Feature Films

The Program

A fluid and nippy telling of a tale that still seems strangely urgent.
The Guardian

Director

Stephen Frears

Cast

  • Ben Foster
  • Chris O’Dowd
  • Lee Pace
  • Jesse Plemons
  • Dustin Hoffman
  • Bryan Greenberg
  • Elaine Cassidy
  • Guillaume Canet
2015, 104 mins, UK
Thriller | Drama | Bio
M

Master British director Stephen Frears’ (The Queen) latest film returns to the biopic, with an incendiary take on the recent controversy surrounding cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Irish sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O’Dowd, The IT Crowd) becomes obsessively convinced that Lance Armstrong’s (Ben Foster, The Messenger) victories during the Tour de France are the result of banned substances. His thrilling search for evidence plays out as Armstrong convinces the world that he never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The cyclist’s great lie and inner turmoil is perfectly contrasted against the image of his godlike, cancer survivor image.

Walsh’s search eventually culminates in Armstrong’s downfall but Frears also focuses on the political complexity, as conspiracy, blackmail and death threats make their mark. The Program ensures a complex ethical and moral study amid both victorious and tumultuous times.

Australian Premiere
  • OFFICIAL SELECTION
    • Toronto International Film Festival 2015