The Dropout Season 1 Review : Amanda Seyfried delivers a pitch perfect performance in an arresting series

Story: The Dropout charts the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of now-defunct health technology company Theranos. The covers the journey of Holmes while studying at Stanford to the eventual dissolution of her company.

Review: It seems it’s the season of fraudsters of American tech companies on streaming platforms. After Travis Kalanick now it’s the turn of Elizabeth Holmes. If Elizabeth Holmes in a short span of time has already managed two books on her, two podcasts, and two documentaries (one of them by ace documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney), how can a series be far behind? It’s here and thankfully ‘The Dropout’ is an arresting watch. The series charts the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes in great detail spread over 8 hour-long episodes. To the uninitiated, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out while studying biomedical science at Stanford University and then founded a company called Theranos which laid claim to revolutionising the blood-testing industry. In the end, everything turned out to be a farce and when investors pulled the plug from the company it suffered loses to the tune of $ 9 billion.

‘The Dropout’ follows a straight narrative and is without any frills and this is the foremost reason why you are in a haste to watch subsequent episodes. The events in the series keep you hooked. Scenes like when Holmes' father loses his job after Enron goes bust, and his sudden breakdown in front of her daughter, will make you root for Holmes in the initial episode. But full credit goes to writers of this drama that they successfully bring about a change in the persona of the protagonist and it slowly changes sides.

This review is based on the three episodes made available by the streaming platform. If one were to look at the lives of tech geniuses like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick, or Mark Zuckerberg, one common thread that connects all is they all were driven by passion,
zest, and haste to excel, and a mad eccentric behaviour. And Elizabeth Holmes is no exception. But this is where the series falters. The Dropout fails to capture this streak of tech geniuses in Amanda Seyfried. The edginess and the mad drive in the character are missing
and that loophole takes away some sheen from the series. Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes has delivered a stupendous performance and her maniacal attitude to earn money and a rush to do as many things is well captured on camera. The slow changes that one witness in the graph of her character is pure writing victory. It’s a pleasure to see Naveen Andrews after such a long time in a series. In the role of a practical, suave, and manipulative entrepreneur Sunny Balwani, he has given a spirited performance. Old horses William H Macy and Stephen Fry too appear in this series in pivotal roles and they only add shine to the series.

The series shares a lot of similarities with the recent release Super Pumped (about Uber founder Travis Kalanick) but the depth at which The Dropout explores the lives of Elizabeth Holmes is far more nuanced. This drama series is based on an ABC news podcast and the first three episodes will give you an idea of why it was important for this captivating story to be turned into a full-fledged series. The Dropout at the end remains a thrilling series, and only hopes that the series does not humanise the dastardly acts of Holmes. While Silicon Valley might be filled with umpteen success stories, The Dropout is the flipside that needs to be told. This biographical drama is a tightly paced show that deserves a watch! And it’s not a predictable show.