Netflix brings the true story of Australian influencer and scammer Belle Gibson (Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever) to life in Apple Cider Vinegar. Belle built a wellness empire — complete with an app and cookbook — after she claimed she was treating her brain cancer with a healthy diet. But in reality, she never had cancer. The limited series intertwines her monstrous lie with the story of rival influencer Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey, It's What's Inside), who actually has cancer and is opting for a bogus all-natural treatment plan.
But while the highly stylized Apple Cider Vinegar tries to make points about how wellness grifters thrive off of the rise of social media, it ultimately lacks the depth to tackle this topic fully. As I wrote in my review, "Apple Cider Vinegar co-opts the aesthetics of aspirational social media posts in order to highlight just how big a role these platforms played in Belle's rise. But in making use of this visual language, is it really commenting on how shallow and artificial influencers' posts can be? Or is it falling prey to that very same artificiality?" — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Mark Coles Smith, Ashley Zukerman, Susie Porter, Matt Nable, Phoenix Raei, Chai Hansen, Richard Davies, Essie Davis, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Catherine McClements
How to watch: https://www.tranganhnam.xyz/2025/02/whats-new-to-stream-this-week-february.html
But while the highly stylized Apple Cider Vinegar tries to make points about how wellness grifters thrive off of the rise of social media, it ultimately lacks the depth to tackle this topic fully. As I wrote in my review, "Apple Cider Vinegar co-opts the aesthetics of aspirational social media posts in order to highlight just how big a role these platforms played in Belle's rise. But in making use of this visual language, is it really commenting on how shallow and artificial influencers' posts can be? Or is it falling prey to that very same artificiality?" — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Mark Coles Smith, Ashley Zukerman, Susie Porter, Matt Nable, Phoenix Raei, Chai Hansen, Richard Davies, Essie Davis, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Catherine McClements
How to watch: https://www.tranganhnam.xyz/2025/02/whats-new-to-stream-this-week-february.html
Category
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Short film