While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, Bryan Fogel, an American filmmaker and a high-level amateur cyclist, connects with Russian scientist Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. Rodchenkov agrees to help Fogel with an experiment to prove that the current way athletes are tested for drugs is insufficient. He is in a process of designing a protocol that will allow Fogel to take banned performance-enhancing drugs while avoiding positive drug tests. As Fogel continues his training, he and Rodchenkov become friends, and Rodchenkov even visits the United States to collect urine samples from Fogel.
Fogel, disappointed after doing worse in the grueling Haute Route Alps race while doping than he had done the previous year, visits Rodchenkov in Moscow. Back at home, he follows developing allegations of a Russian state-sponsored Olympic doping program overseen by Rodchenkov, and sees images in the international media of his friend and the lab he had visited. The ensuing investigation leads Rodchenkov to a forced resignation as the Moscow laboratory head. Worried that he may be "silenced" by the Russian government, Rodchenkov works with Fogel to come to Los Angeles and go into hiding. Using documentation that Rodchenkov brought with him as evidence, the pair speak to the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York Times, alleging that Russia has conspired to cheat in the Olympics for decades, and Rodchenkov was hired to ramp up the operation after the embarrassing performance of Russia in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[6]
The film ends with title cards stating that the Russian government continues to deny it had any involvement with the program, and that Rodchenkov remains in protective custody in the United States.
Reception
On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 50 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Icarus is eye-opening viewing for professional sports enthusiasts, yet it should also prove thoroughly gripping even for filmgoers who might not necessarily be drawn to the subject."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and called it "a crackling documentary".[10]
The trailer for the film was screened during a February 2018 meeting of the U.S. Helsinki Commission (also known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe). During that meeting, attorney Jim Walden spoke about Rodchenkov's work, as well as the need for better enforcement by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee in order to eliminate corruption and restore integrity to the international athletic community.[11]
We dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistle-blower who now lives in great danger. We hope Icarus is a wake-up call — yes, about Russia, but more than that, about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever.[12]
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