Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar promised to be the Australian TV series of the year, but a crucial storytelling element is missing, writes Dr Erin O’Dwyer
I watched Apple Cider Vinegar last week, hopeful it would live up to the marketing hype.
Let me start by saying American actress Kaitlyn Denver is brilliant as Belle Gibson. Indeed, the show has all the elements of prestige TV – a stellar cast, lush set and costume design, eyepopping photography and a fascinating real-life subject.
Yet it falls flat.
Why?
What are the principles of great storytelling?
Great storytelling relies on ‘the Gaze’ – a dynamic between three roles: the Knowing One (who holds a secret), the Innocent (who is unaware), and the Advantage Taker(who benefits from uncovering or using the secret).
The Gaze sets up a secret in the narrative, revealing the truth only in the final resolution. The Gaze builds tension and draws the audience in. It also reveals each character’s motivations. Finally, it positions the storyteller as sage – helping audiences make sense of the world we live in.
A simple ‘whodunnit’ example
Consider any good detective story. There will always be a Gaze. The criminal (Knowing One), and the detective trying to uncover the truth (Advantage Taker). The Innocent is someone from whom the truth must be kept – often a spouse, lover or family member.
Text book example
Think Heat (1995) – where Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and de Niro’s love interest Eadie perfectly embody the Gaze.
Eadie is the Innocent, knowing nothing of De Niro’s criminal underworld. De Niro is the Knowing One, keeping the truth from her. This allows the detective, played by Al Pacino (Advantage Taker) to see De Niro is vulnerable and therefore at risk of making a mistake.
Once you know how to recognise it, you’ll see this three-person waltz moving through all great storytelling.
What went wrong in ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
In Apple Cider Vinegar, there is no Gaze.
Belle Gibson is the Knowing One, her partner Clive is the Innocent – but there is no Advantage Taker. This role could be filled by the journalists who are trying to discover the truth of her story. Or the the wellness blogger Milla (based on the real life Jessica Ainscough). But there is too much slack between Belle’s story and theirs.
There’s also too much back story. The journalist Justin’s wife has breast cancer but the narrative gives too much weight to this sub-plot. We don’t know whether Justin is grieving husband or dogged journo. Justin needs to be hot on Belle’s tail, the whole way through the series.
Mila’s back story – her dying mother and her anguished father – diverts our attention from the main game: Belle. We need to see Milla confront her own death much earlier in the series – and be on a mission to expose Belle’s lies.
Apple Cider Vinegar is purely voyeuristic. It fails to analyse why Belle Gibson did what she did, and why people didn’t call her out.
Note, the journalists do find Belle out. As does Milla. And that’s when the series gets juicy – in the later episodes. But these plots needed to be teased out from the beginning – and all throughout the series – to create tension and produce a richer piece of storytelling.
Without the Gaze, Apple Cider Vinegar becomes mere spectacle. It grabs attention but lacks depth, failing to explore why Belle Gibson did what she did – or why those around her ignored or enabled her deception.
Another take on the Belle Gibson story
The Netflix doco on Belle Gibson, The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artistinvestigates Belle’s many claims, as well as her rise and fall from the spotlight.
It creates a beautifully tight Gaze – Belle (Knowing One), her loyal fans and friends (Innocent) and the media (Advantage Taker).
Also cast as the Advantage Takeris Apple – who included her app on their first watch. And her publisher Penguin who paid her in excess of $100,000 for her cook book.
The journalist, Richard Guilliatt, is also an Advantage Taker. He doggedly pursues Belle all through the two-part series.
It’s an excellent doco – one that doesn’t just tell Belle’s story, but unpacks the ecosystem that allowed her to thrive.
The Gaze and the art of storytelling
The beauty of fictionalising a story, like Apple Cider Vinegar does with Belle Gibson, is that you can craft a Gaze for maximum storytelling effect.
If your storytelling is not working, ask yourself:
- Where is the Gaze?
- Do I have a Knowing One, an Innocent and an Advantage Taker?
- Are the three characters in the Gaze woven tightly together in the story?
- How can I create these roles and characters in my story?
Final thought for storytellers
The Gaze enables you, as storyteller, to ask questions of the world we live in.
It also draws the audience in, and asks them – where are you in this story? Were you an Innocent, buying the Belle Gibson lies? Or were you an Advantage Taker– benefitting from her story?
Had the creators of Apple Cider Vinegar asked these questions, they could have delivered a gripping, layered story – one that didn’t just portray Belle Gibson, but truly examined her, and the world that enabled her.
