Athlete A
netflix
Athlete A is by no means an easy watch, but an incredibly important one. The documentary follows a small group of local journalists slowly uncovering the truth behind a huge sexual abuse scandal in Gymnastics USA, featuring interviews from the victims themselves as well as an impressive amount of archive footage that dates back decades.
The documentary starts by introducing Maggie Nichols and her family as they describe how Maggie began her career as a gymnast and just how great her future prospects looked. Maggie describes the sport of gymnastics with such adoration and respect, which makes the tonal change even more upsetting when we learn that Gymnastics USA silenced Maggie and removed her from the team for speaking out about her abuse. It’s a really effective and gripping start to the story that sets the tone and leaves you wanting more answers.
Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen, the directors, then open up the documentary. It does a superb job of informing and explaining the recent history of gymnastics, with a focus on the USA that provides crucial context. It’s very effective in really informing the audience on how these toxic environments were created, and there is even one sequence that recontextualises a famous Olympic moment many once considered to be admirable and inspiring, making a brilliant point of how abuse was going on in plain sight yet no one realised.
The way Athlete A is able to weave the archival footage and the interviews together to continually inform and demonstrate is expertly done. Never does it feel like we’re seeing too much or too little of either. While the archival footage does a fantastic job at supporting the narration, the interviews is where the presentation really shines. They’re professionally lit and framed – it really does feel like these survivors are sitting down with you and sharing their story with you personally. It’s a very professionally put together documentary which is appropriate considering the subject matter. The music is complementary and does not become overbearing, never overshadowing the interviewees.
What’s really admirable about this documentary is how it allows the victims to simply talk and tell their stories. Every anecdotal story speaks volumes of the abuse these victims suffered. Even when the documentary begins to explore larger ideas, such as how the Cold War impacted events through competing cultures, it is able to keep itself grounded to the story and not let things spiral out of focus. Details are slowly revealed by following the local journalists who broke the story, keeping the timeline clear and easy to follow. This consistent focus and brilliant pacing leaves nothing but what is necessary to the story and it never feels like it is dragging along.
Athlete A has an extremely powerful scene near the end of its runtime that is sure to leave an impact with any viewer, both empowering and satisfying to see. Overall this is a fantastic documentary that is certainly worth your time. Everyone who worked on the documentary, those at the Indianapolis Star, and the survivors themselves deserve the utmost respect.
