Apple Cider Vinegar review: Belle Gibson drama is a sick story told well

There, she captivated an audience of hundreds of thousands with her remarkable story of fighting brain cancer through diet and wellness, inspiring other sufferers of the illness to consider alternative forms of treatment.

There was just one problem: Belle never had cancer.

This shocking story is brought to life in Apple Cider Vinegar, which follows a rivalry between Belle and fellow wellness influencer Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who appears to be inspired by the late Jessica Ainscough.

The extent of their bitterness and mistrust towards one another is an area where, I suspect, some artistic licence has been taken, but their crossing paths is a matter of public record – and the symmetry of their stories is eerie.

Unlike her counterpart, Ainscough actually did have cancer, which she earnestly attempted to treat with controversial alternative techniques like Gerson therapy.

Chronicling her progress online, she accumulated her own following under the pseudonym Wellness Warrior, but sadly, her story exposes the tragic reality facing those who entirely withdraw from conventional medicine.

These parallel stories are the foundation for Apple Cider Vinegar, an attention-gripping miniseries that embraces the surreality of Gibson's lies without minimising the harm and heartbreak that they caused.

Crucial to that success is star Kaitlyn Dever, who has the unenviable challenge of playing Belle; an individual who could politely be described as incomprehensible. On the famously impolite internet, she has been labelled with far less flattering adjectives.

Apple Cider Vinegar presents some theories as to what could have driven Belle to do something so unthinkable, without ever using those possible motives as justification for her deception.

Importantly, the show doesn't ask you to forgive her – or even especially sympathise – but acknowledges that nothing occurs in a vacuum and so, naturally, there must have been a catalyst to this mind-boggling chain of events.

It's largely left up to viewers to make their mind up on whether that might be greed, loneliness, naivety, narcissism, childhood trauma, mental illness, all of the above or another factor entirely – it's unlikely we'll ever know for certain.

Dever is able to convey both the charming, gracious public persona that Belle maintained for so long, and a colder private demeanour in scenes between herself and partner, Clive (Ashley Zukerman).

But the show saves its sympathy for Milla and her family.

While the character (and her real-life counterpart) is certainly not beyond criticism – no matter how well-intentioned, she too led some people away from conventional medicine – there is a heart-wrenching authenticity to her plight.

Her misplaced faith in the cult-like extremities of the wellness community is compellingly portrayed by Debnam-Carey, reminding us that these alternative treatments are often adopted by people who are vulnerable, desperate and grasping for hope.

Susie Porter gives a powerful performance in the supporting role of Milla's mother, Tamara, who quashes initial doubts to support her daughter's wishes, starting down an arduous path of her own.

Alas, a concurrent cancer battle storyline involving Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), the wife of investigative journalist Justin (Mark Coles Smith), fails to have quite the same impact.

That's no fault of Cobham-Hervey or Smith, who both deliver solid performances, but can't keep this particular plot thread from feeling crowbarred into the show – because that's exactly what it is.

Real-life journalist Richard Guilliatt, whom Justin is partially based on, was motivated to investigate Belle after his wife's own experience of cancer – but her diagnosis was in 2005, meaning the timeline didn't align exactly as depicted here.

I suspect it isn't the only change that the writers made to her story, which veers off on a strange tangent largely disconnected from the main events; that is to say, it feels a bit like filler in an otherwise economical series.

Nevertheless, Apple Cider Vinegar should have no trouble holding your attention for the entirety of its six-episode run, which is no small feat for a show built around a subject so many of us actively try to avoid – that being, 'the big C'.

Indeed, the inherent grief at the centre of this story is never far from view, but screenwriters Samantha Strauss, Anya Beyersdorf and Angela Betzien do offset that heaviness with some black humour aimed at the epic scope of Belle's fictions.

It's generally well pitched, implemented at the right moments in the story and never targeted towards the experience of actual cancer patients, but understandably not everyone will feel comfortable handling the topic with any degree of lightness.

Those left unsure can perhaps find solace in the fact that, as stated at the beginning of each episode, the real Gibson has not been paid for this retelling of her story, so there's no sense the convicted scammer stands to benefit in any significant way.

Apple Cider Vinegar is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 6th February 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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