Atanaria
Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar attempts to dramatize the rise and fall of Belle Gibson, the Australian influencer who faked having cancer to amass a following and promote dubious alternative health cures. With a strong lead performance by Kaitlyn Dever and a narrative structure that jumps across multiple timelines, the series seeks to expose the dangers of online wellness culture, medical misinformation, and the power of social media deception. However, while Apple Cider Vinegar has intriguing elements, it ultimately falls short due to its uneven storytelling, confusing structure, and failure to bring fresh insight to the scammer genre.
A Strong Central Performance
Dever’s portrayal of Belle Gibson is a standout. The Dopesick and Unbelievable star adopts a convincing Australian accent and balances the character’s self-delusion, charisma, and manipulative nature. At times, she leans into comedy, highlighting the absurdity of Gibson’s ever-growing web of lies. However, despite Dever’s compelling performance, the show struggles to decide whether it wants to satirize Gibson’s deceit or take a more serious, investigative approach.
A Familiar Story Told in a Fractured Way in Apple Cider Vinegar
The series takes an ambitious but ultimately disorienting approach to its narrative structure. Instead of a straightforward retelling, it jumps between different timelines—Gibson’s rise to internet fame, her eventual exposure, and her attempts at damage control. Additionally, multiple framing devices, such as Gibson’s PR crisis meetings and a journalist-led investigation, create an unfocused and at times redundant storytelling experience. Unlike The Dropout, which expertly dissected Elizabeth Holmes’ scam, Apple Cider Vinegar struggles to fully explore its central figure’s psychology in a cohesive way.
Muddled Themes and Missed Opportunities
The show attempts to contextualize Gibson’s fraud within the larger culture of wellness influencers and pseudoscientific health trends, but it ultimately fails to make a strong statement. The inclusion of Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a well-meaning but misled cancer influencer, offers a potential avenue for nuanced commentary. However, Gibson’s extreme deception overshadows more thought-provoking discussions about why people turn to alternative medicine in the first place.
A more compelling subplot revolves around Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Harvey), a cancer patient who, influenced by Gibson, abandons conventional treatment for alternative therapies. Lucy’s husband, Justin (Mark Coles Smith), is one of the journalists investigating Gibson, creating a personal and emotional layer to the story. While this thread is moving, it often gets sidelined by the show’s obsession with Gibson’s larger-than-life antics.
Apple Cider Vinegar And Its Own Ethical Dilemma
One of Apple Cider Vinegar’s biggest criticisms is its inability to balance condemnation and sensationalism. The series often revels in Gibson’s manipulative spectacle rather than offering meaningful critique. A particularly bizarre early scene features a choreographed dance sequence to Britney Spears’ Toxic, setting a tone that feels more like a flashy parody than a serious exposé. This raises the question: does the show genuinely aim to dismantle influencer fraud, or is it merely cashing in on the scammer drama trend?
Style Over Substance But At What Cost?
Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar offers an entertaining but ultimately shallow look at one of the most infamous health fraudsters of the internet age. Despite a stellar lead performance and a few emotionally resonant moments, the show suffers from an unfocused narrative, a lack of originality within the scammer genre, and an ethical contradiction at its core. Instead of delivering a sharp critique of wellness culture’s dark side, Apple Cider Vinegar often feels like it’s indulging in the very spectacle it seeks to condemn. And when it comes down to feminism and famous women “scam artists” like Anna Sorokin or Elizabeth Holmes who have been tremendous geniuses in their industry, this show fails to deliver what we could personnally have pointed out to be a redeeming character arc. Too bad.
