'Athlete A' Review: Riveting and enraging account of athletes subjected to abuse and trauma in the USAG
This review is spoiler-free
The US Women's Gymnastic team was about to have a scintillating Rio Olympics as they bagged nine medals. And just a few days ahead of the time they made their efforts count, the publication Indianapolis Star shot out an expose that revealed sexual abuse within the USA Gymnastics (USAG). It was a shocking disclosure that saw multiple athletes come forward to tell their stories of being sexually assaulted while training under the organization. Even as the details kept flowing, it was imminent that these activities were shrouded.
And shrouded they were, by the highest-ranking officials and key members. Filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk attempt to go in-depth as they interview journalists Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim Evans along with Steve Berta and Robert Scheer. The journalists provide a crisp and compelling recount of their hard-hitting reportage where they follow-up leads, track down and interview former athletes subjected to the disgraceful acts.
'Athlete A' might be the tale of Margaret Nichols, but it is richly supplemented by the history and the reveals over the years. The screentime is mutually divided between the journalists and the athletes as Cohen and Shenk pack as much as they can in just over a 100-minute feature. In focus is Olympics doctor Larry Nassar. He was meant to be the quintessential good guy. The "Mr Nice and knowledgable", who started his journey with the team in 1986. He was the healer, the fixer and man responsible for getting the athletes back on track. Except he did more and not one of it was acceptable. However, the complaints fell on deaf ears. The ramifications were equally unjust as the athletes who complained were removed from the team despite brilliant performances. While Nassar may have been locked up in prison and Steve Penny, former CEO and president of the USAG, is facing charges, the final say is yet to be determined, but the events have no doubt marred the name and quality of the sport.
The Romanian gymnastics history that saw them as decorated winners in the '70s is explained in detail. The story of the US borrowing key elements that included extreme training measures and mental conditioning from the Romanian Olympics manual gets a good 10 minutes of screentime. It is a pity that physical abuse was more of a norm for the athletes. It was even pitiful considering they couldn't voice their problems. It was dastardly as some of them realized they were sexually abused only much later.
It is fair to dub 'Athlete A' as riveting as it narrates the ghastly details and the USAG's meticulous cover-up of the acts even as the athletes went through major trauma. While Penny and Nassar take turns to share the spotlight in the docu-film, there is still enough for the audience to know that a lot of USAG's roots are poisoned. The two are just the tip of the iceberg. For Nichols and the other former athletes, there's a sense of hope. Their journey to the pinnacle of success might have had a jarring halt, but the young ones would hopefully not suffer as much.
'Athlete A' premieres on June 24 on Netflix.