Apple Cider Vinegar Review: Netflix's True-ish Crime Drama Largely Thrives Thanks To Kaitlyn Dever's Mesmerizingly Evil Turn

Though she's been an actor since her teenage years in the likes of Tim Allen's Last Man Standing, the past few years have certainly seen Kaitlyn Dever getting the praise she deserves, and Apple Cider Vinegar is sure to continue that trend despite its flaws. Even if it doesn't, though, Dever still has her role as the infamous game antagonist Abby in The Last of Us season 2 to continue making her mark, while also set to star in the next Godzilla x Kong movie.

Apple Cider Vinegar

TV-MA

Drama

Crime

Cast

See All

Kaitlyn Dever
Alycia Debnam-Carey
Aisha Dee
Tilda Cobham-Hervey

Apple Cider Vinegar is a dramatic narrative featuring two young women who advocate for wellness remedies to cure deadly illnesses. As they engage with and influence the public, the pair navigate the complexities and repercussions of their advocacy, impacting their lives and the world significantly.

Release Date: February 6, 2025
Network: Netflix
Writers: Samantha Strauss
Producers: Emile Sherman, Helen Gregory, Liz Watts, Yvonne Collins, Iain Canning, Kaitlyn Dever, Simon Gillis
Seasons: 1

In Apple Cider Vinegar, based on Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano's true crime novel The Woman Who Fooled the World, Dever stars as Belle Gibson, a young mother who claims to have battled through a brain cancer diagnosis through natural healing and starts a wellness media empire. As her popularity begins to reach sky-high levels, questions begin to arise about her past, including doubts about her cancer, culminating in a series of dark secrets and narcissistic behavior being exposed.

Apple Cider Vinegar's Story Starts Both Slow & Scattershot

Its Nonlinear Narrative Doesn't Really Work Until Near The End

With a story as fascinating as Belle Gibson's, it's certainly understandable why the writing team of Samantha Strauss, Anya Beyersdorf and Angela Betzien would want to avoid the typical biopic formula. That said, their decision to go for a nonlinear format is often a frustrating one, particularly in the first few episodes of the six-episode show. By jumping around in Belle's timeline and shifting away from character planning to focus on how to bring her down, it takes a while before the writing team strikes the right balance.

While some of the reveals in the latter half of the season make the non-linear narrative rewarding — as we begin to see everything from events to lines of dialogue showing just how manipulative Belle is — it's not nearly rewarding enough when considering how disorienting these timeline jumps often feel. If anything, the structure is clearly one that's trying to emulate The Social Networkas it jumps between the time of her downfall and other areas of her life.

Jeffrey Walker's Direction Is Appropriately Stylish & Engaging

It's A Thoroughly Immersive Approach To Belle's World

Though the writing may sometimes let it down, a large part of what makes Apple Cider Vinegar's storytelling work is Jeffrey Walker in the director's chair. The Australian filmmaker, who previously helmed episodes of Teresa Palmer's thriller The Clearing, finds a compelling way to immerse us in the world of the show's social media-obsessed characters by incorporating many of the screens directly into every scene. Whether it be a text message in a font chosen specifically by a character or showcasing various posts from Belle and fellow wellness influencer, Milla (Alycia Debnam-Carey), it creates a wonderfully engaging visual language.

Certainly the most compelling element of them all, though, is the way Walker and the visual effects team incorporate reaction emojis from social media platforms into the scenes in which Belle publishes her false-filled posts online. Though a seemingly simple effect, it's actually one of the most effective of the show in just how much it plays into Belle's narcissism and her need for online validation. It's a moment that could have more or less hit the same emotional note by relying on Dever's performance, and yet Walker's directorial choice nicely amplifies every time it happens.

Apple Cider Vinegar's Cast Are The True Heroes Of The Show

There's Not A Single Bad Performer Among The Bunch, Though Dever & Debnam-Carey Dominate

Regardless of the show's other highs or lows, the one thing that remains consistently perfect from beginning to end of Apple Cider Vinegar are the performances of its cast, many of whom deliver some of the best performances of their careers. Dever and Debnam-Carey present stunning depictions of very different cancer experiences, with the latter authentically capturing every heartbreaking layer of the grief process, while the former expertly weaves her web of manipulation through believable emotional fits and false sympathies.

The one caveat that comes with Apple Cider Vinegar having such a wide range of talented performers is that some of them feel overshadowed by the larger nature of the plot.

Even beyond Dever and Debnam-Carey, Apple Cider Vinegar pulls off the rare feat of having everyone on the show's roster offering good performances, if not outright fantastic ones. Aisha Dee stuns as the best friend to both Milla and Belle, who becomes wrongfully swayed by the latter's lies, while Ashley Zukerman wonderfully captures the conflicted nature of Clive as he falls deeper in love with the wrong woman. Arrowverse alum Matt Nable is heartbreaking as Milla's father who can't fully accept her new lifestyle and Mark Coles Smith inspires as the journalist whose personal interest in Belle becomes a key in bringing her down.

The one caveat that comes with Apple Cider Vinegar having such a wide range of talented performers is that some of them feel overshadowed by the larger nature of the plot. Tilda Cobham-Hervey's Lucy is, much like Debnam-Carey's Milla, one of the truthful and gripping characters to watch. But despite her larger role in the first half, it sadly becomes diminished as Bella's downfall takes priority. Even still, it's thanks to her, Dever, and the rest of the show's magnificent roster that the show is largely able to overcome its issues.