Elizabeth Holmes has been a source of fascination for many, as she glimpsed the affected husky-voiced, wide-eyed personality in Alex Gibney's documentary "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley." Amanda Seyfried nails them all in "The Dropout," a clever Hulu documentary devoted to the rise of Holmes and the fall of Shakespeare, as well as gender dynamics throughout play.
Boasting an exceptionally good cast even in relatively minor roles, the series takes an unexpectedly sympathetic stance towards Holmes, at least in the early stages, as he tries to improve the blood-testing process before exiting Stanford. captured the idea. ,
Part of that ambition, it is speculated, stems from watching his father struggle to work at Enron, though he clearly took victory lessons from that experience for anything wrong.
Thoroughly driven and a tireless sales lady, Holmes faces all kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle maladies, such as when she's told she's great if she wants potential financiers to take her seriously. Do not see
At the same time, some (including the media) were clearly obsessed with the idea of a young female CEO in this male-dominated, tech-driven environment, never mind the fact that the product she's selling won't do. What she keeps on telling people it will happen -- a good idea that she can't work out.
As Stanford professor Phyllis Gardner (Laurie Metcalf) eloquently concludes, "She's a fraud." Alas, that assessment didn't deter a lot of high-powered individuals from being charmed by her pitch, including former Secretary of State George Schultz (Sam Waterston), viewing her as a "symbol of feminist progress."
"The Dropout" is populated by a gaudy assortment of big-name actors including Metcalf, Waterston, William H. Massey, Stephen Fry, Kurtwood Smith, Bill Irwin and Anne Archer.
Still, Seyfried stole the show from the younger version of Holmes, who worked on everything related to her meticulously crafted image—from choosing her black turtleneck look to the duration of her voice, rehearsing the delivery in the mirror.
There's also something harsh and artificial about her personal interactions, a point she frankly tells her boyfriend and partner Sunny Balwani ("Lost" Naveen Andrews), "I don't feel things the way other people do. feel to him," while insisting that she still cares for him.
Created by Holmes to make a statement, the series describes how he misrepresented revenue and test failures while luring politicians, dignitaries and investors.
The Fate of Theranos also features tantalizing subplots from young whistleblowers — Tyler Schultz (Dylan Minnette), Schultz's grandson, and Erica Cheung (Cameron Mi-Young Kim) — who came forward to expose Theranos' misdeeds in the Wall Street Journal . The reporter (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) who helped crack the story, even the newspaper's owner, Rupert Murdoch, was among those investing in the company.
"The Dropout" is the latest in a cutthroat world of start-ups coming close on the heels of "Super Pump: The Battle for Uber," which share some of the same tragic excesses.
Even with a high bar for fares like this, thanks largely to Seyfried, "The Dropout" gets under your skin, "Should I watch?" Testing with flying colors.