Apple Cider Vinegar: A New Taste of True Crime—Great Purse, Scattered All Over Magazines! But beyond the stunning visuals, the story loses its grip. Watch or just buy?
Belle Gibson: The Academy’s New Layer in Volcano’s “Apple Cider Vinegar”
You probably know about Belle Gibson—the disgraced wellness influencer who is now the subject of Szylewa’s new dance crime drama “Apple Cider Vinegar.”
If you’ve ever watched the YouTube videos covering her rapid rise and fall, her story ruffled feathers as much as it did mine. When the six-episode series announced the diabolical character’s makeover, nearly all of the secrets were out. And when it was revealed that Kaitlyn Dever would play the Australian influencer, interest in the star must have been piqued.
Now, after watching “Apple Cider Vinegar” ahead of the animated film (Thursday, Feb. 6), you’ll find yourself intrigued. Its stellar styles look right for the world of social media influencers, and Dever is breathtaking in her role (complete with the perfect Australian accent). Still, just as social media feels glossy but hollow, this series, too, will feel a little incomplete.
Apple Cider Vinegar” vs. “Inventing” Anna”—Just another binge-watch?
If it could be compared to any animation show, it would be “Inventing Anna,” the 2022 true crime drama I watched on an international weekend and promptly forgot about (unless any theory pointed out its characteristics).
“Apple Cider Vinegar” offers a similar experience—completely immersive viewing, a near-perfect binge-watch, but not one that stays in the mind for long.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The Shocking True Crime Story You Can’t Ignore!
Social Media, Deception and a Dangerous Game
“Apple Cider Vinegar” takes us back to the early days of social media, where the dark truth behind wellness trends is revealed. It examines a world where a viral post becomes more powerful than reality. The story centers on Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever)—a rising star who is idolized for her inspiring story of beating terminal brain cancer with clean eating and alternative treatments. There’s just one problem… she never had cancer. Her millions of followers believe the lie, but every hoax has an expiration date.
The fallout from this lie entangles the lives of three other women—including Mila (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who is Belle’s rival on social media and decides to treat her own blood cancer with alternative methods. Her story highlights how online trends can put real lives at risk. Chanelle (Aisha Dee), Belle’s former friend, finds herself torn between guilt and anger when she realizes the truth. And Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), a breast cancer patient, sees Belle as her hope—despite the warnings of her journalist partner (Mark Coles Smith). But when the truth comes out, the question arises—is there forgiveness for betrayal?
‘Apple Cider Vinegar’: Sweet at first sip, but the bitter truth at the end!
“Apple Cider Vinegar”: Inspiration or copycat?
“Apple Cider Vinegar” doesn’t even try to hide its inspiration. Creator Samantha Strauss seems to be a big fan of Adam McKay’s 2015 film “The Big Short,” as the show unabashedly mimics his trademark style. McKay’s influence is evident in everything from the presentation of the story to the tone.
The show opens with Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever) breaking the fourth wall, looking into the camera and assuring the audience that the real Gibson didn’t make any money from it. This is a direct indication that the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. Furthermore, the world of social media is filled with flashy visual effects and on-screen text, making every scene feel pretentious.
The show doesn’t try to be subtle at all. In one scene, when Gibson (after her false cancer diagnosis) receives sympathetic responses, her phone fills up with cartoonish heart-emojis that burst out of the screen and surround her. That is, the bolder the show wants to be, the more over-the-top it becomes.
Kaitlyn Dever shines, but how sympathetic is Belle’s story?
Fortunately, Kaitlyn Dever manages to add depth to the story with her strong performance. In the early episodes, Belle Gibson seems a contradictory figure, oscillating between empathy and manipulation. Her difficult childhood and broken relationship with her mother show why she developed a craving for validation and a habit of lying.
But the show doesn’t just portray her as an innocent victim of misunderstanding. It unabashedly presents Belle as a morally corrupt, deceptive self-help guru. Dever brings nuance to her performance to each situation—sometimes wearing a mask of innocence, sometimes surprising the audience with cunning. There was already excitement over her casting as Abby in “The Last of Us” Season 2, but now there’s even more confidence in her acting ability.
“Apple Cider Vinegar” is most effective when it highlights the fakeness and dangers of social media. The story’s strong point is how the platforms encourage people to create false images of themselves. Both Belle and Milla (Debnam-Carey, who is also strong, but Dever outshines her) pay a heavy price for getting caught up in this fake world.
Will this show make you rethink yourself?
While watching, you may also find yourself reflecting on how you interact with and present yourself on social media, especially platforms like Instagram. Do we really show our true selves, or are we just trying to create an ideal image? At least, this show made me breathe a sigh of relief for one thing—I never started my own account on the image-sharing website.
The danger of getting lost in the story before you even get caught up
The show’s biggest weakness is its scattered storytelling style. Constantly jumping between multiple characters’ perspectives and different timelines spanning years (where Belle’s rise, reign, and fall are shown in a matter of minutes) makes it difficult for viewers to keep track of things. This fast-paced narrative seems interesting in the beginning, but can also get confusing later.
Will you stay hooked or lost?
Even though the on-screen text makes it clear which scene is set in which timeline, there is an uncomfortable instability in the narrative. You just start to understand an incident, only to be taken several years ahead or backwards. Such jumps never allow the audience to fully immerse themselves in the story. If it was presented as a straight linear story, ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ could have been even more impactful.
Uncomfortable but worth watching!
Despite this, ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ is a show that is hard to stop watching. Belle’s deceptive personality becomes so annoying at times that you will clench your fists in anger. Her “little white lies” prove disastrous, and that is what makes the show an uncomfortable but necessary watch at times. But the problem is that these powerful moments get lost in the tangle of pointless pretentious scenes. Perhaps that is the real message of the show—the world of social media is also like this!
Is ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ Worth Watching or a Waste of Time?
Apple Cider Vinegar’s biggest weakness is that it hides within itself a great, more focused two-hour movie (or four-episode miniseries). Spanning six episodes and filled with constant flashbacks and perspective shifts, the series sometimes feels overly stretched.
That doesn’t mean it should be completely ignored, though. If you watch it quickly, some of the show’s flaws are minimized, and its story keeps you hooked until the end. But if it’s stretched out over several days or weeks, the excitement to watch the next episode may wane.
If you have the time, it’s not a bad idea to give ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ a shot—especially for Kaitlyn Dever’s strong performance.
Netflix is off to a great start this month, with thrillers like ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ as well as ‘Cassandra’ and ‘The R Murders’ coming to streaming. If you’re looking for something new to watch this weekend, you have plenty of great options. For the full details, be sure to check out our guide to all the new shows and movies coming to Netflix in February 2025.
Stream ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ on Netflix now!