By: Amanda Guarragi
When we study history and look at the idealists that bring forth something new, they genuinely believe in their idea at first. And many of them lose themselves in greed instead of their original idea. What was so interesting about Elizabeth Holmes’ story is the fact that she just kept pushing to prove everyone wrong and that is what cost her, her credibility as a scientist. This series shows the tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) developed a healthcare technology that put millions of patients at risk and she managed to lose everything in the blink of an eye.
The one thing that impressed me the most about this series was the pacing of each episode. There are only seven episodes and it feels like each hour is packed with so much information and drama. The series begins with the deposition as they asked Holmes important questions about her time at Stanford, prior to dropping out. Then there’s a flashback showing how eager of a student she was and how meeting one person, Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews) changed her perspective on how to move in this business. The editing for the deposition and the flashbacks became inconsistent, as they got lost in the actual story, but that’s just a minor issue.
While watching the series, I also gained a new appreciation for Amanda Seyfried as an actor because she completely lost herself in this role. As each episode went on, Seyfried fully formed into Holmes and it was interesting to watch. There are moments when Seyfried is speaking to herself in the mirror and dropping her voice to seem more authoritative, which would be empowered on a surface level, but it was just questionable because of what Holmes was doing. If you don’t know her story, then this will be an eye-opening experience to see how poorly the healthcare system works in America. Greed in pharmaceuticals will be the death of so many and it’s so clear to see why people dropout of college with a simple idea.
The Dropout is a slow burn series with steady pacing that will keep you glued to the screen. Seyfried is incredible in this role and she will constantly surprise you with how deep she goes to embody Holmes. The supporting cast is strong and towards the second half of the series, there are many moving parts that take spiralling out of control to a new level. What starts out as a simple, helpful idea, turns into a million-dollar idea, with no concrete project that works. You can pour money into anything and have it fabricated it; thus presenting that money doesn’t truly exist and it’s just based on how well you manage it.
Candid Cinema 