The Dropout (2022)
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The Dropout Review
The Dropout is a biographical drama miniseries that aired on Hulu in 2022. It’s not a great show, but it does benefit from a juicy story and a superb central performance.
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“You don’t get to skip any steps…
So no, as a woman, I can’t help you right now“
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The series is about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos. The show touches on experiences that likely motivated Holmes’s deceptions and lies in a linear fashion, starting from her preteens and all the way to her exposure as a fraud. The real life story behind this series is crazy and just made for this type of treatment, though I would contend that maybe it would have been even better as a movie than a show as the series did feel a bit repetitive in its mid section.
The Dropout is best to be seen for the Amanda Seyfried performance in the main role. She is an underrated actress whom I haven’t seen in quite a while and it’s so great to see her again and in such a great role. This is her career-best performance where she managed to channel so many different emotions and moods all at once as Elizabeth Holmes remains this highly puzzling figure. Was she just lucky? Did others help her? Or was she truly insidious as a person?
All of these are evident in her performance and the characterization of Holmes and this complexity made The Dropout so much fun to watch. Others also make a solid impression, especially Naveen Andrews as her partner and Laurie Metcalf, who truly shined as one of Holmes’ biggest detractors.
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The various personalities that the show deals with are interesting and the acting is superb cross the board. The problem here is that no matter how well made this series obviously is, it failed to get elevated by stronger technical aspects as the score, cinematography and pacing are all just serviceable. The flashbacks were solidly structured, but the repetitiveness in the show’s pacing and situations was its biggest issue.
Overall, The Dropout is nothing new in terms of storytelling. It’s about a fraud who tricked everybody and it’s about the people who brought her down. The technical aspects are only just okay. The main reason to see this show is to witness the greatness of Amanda Seyfried’s performance as she killed it as the complex and puzzling Elizabeth Holms.
Worst Episodes: Satori and Flower of Life.
Best Episodes: Old White Men and Iron Sisters.
