The four-hour-long Elon Musk documentary might be preaching to the choir
A review of Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary on Elon Musk suggests the film is a thorough but potentially repetitive examination of the billionaire's influence. The critic notes that while the film effectively chronicles Musk's rise, its length may limit its reach to those already critical of his actions.
Why it matters
It examines the public perception of high-profile tech figures and the role of long-form media in shaping political and social discourse.
It makes sense that Musk is a long film. The latest from Alex Gibney, who has previously directed documentaries about Theranos and Steve Jobs, is an impressively thorough retelling of the story of Elon Musk, from his early days as a dot-com millionaire to “taking a wood chipper” to vital US government departments. In order to understand Musk’s rise to power, you need to know the whole story. Musk tells it compellingly and convincingly, but doesn’t offer much in the way of revelations if you’re aware of Musk’s catastrophic influence on the world. For everyone else, a demanding runtime just shy of four hours might prove too much of a barrier to being convinced.
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