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‘The Queen’ director turns his attention to lying Lance Armstrong

How does one go from idealistic athlete to doping cheat? In my mind, it’s a dramatic, soul-shattering moment — but “The Program,” adapted from a book by Irish journalist David Walsh, envisions just how easy it was for cyclist Lance Armstrong to begin living one of the most famous lies in sports history. That said, it’s basically a narrative spin on Alex Gibney’s 2013 documentary “The Armstrong Lie,” only with less cycling footage. This is a plus for those of us easily bored by such things (so many interchangeable mountain passes and neon jerseys!), but there isn’t a ton of new material here. Where Gibney had Armstrong, director Stephen Frears has the chameleonlike Ben Foster. He plays the cyclist as a grade-A jerk, but also fleshes out the epically tragic aspect of his downfall: The hubristic Armstrong was also once a genuine athlete who beat cancer and went on to start a charity that raised millions. The reliably great Jesse Plemons is Floyd Landis, Armstrong’s conflicted teammate, while Chris O’Dowd is Walsh, who persisted in questioning the too-perfect comeback story. “The Program” would benefit from more background; we barely spend five minutes with Armstrong before he’s soliciting an infamous Italian doping doc (Guillaume Canet). His personal life swooshes by like a French bystander on the Tour. We’re left with the well-acted and well-told, if familiar, story of a man who knew better but couldn’t stop himself.


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