Pathological Optimist Documentary Review (Andrew Wakefield's Legal Battle)

Miranda Bailey's much anticipated film documenting the foredoomed legal battle of controversial figure Andrew Wakefield against journalist Brian Deer was released in theaters September of 2017.

Synopsis (from thepathologicaloptimistfilm.com):
Who is the man behind the most highly controversial, intensely debated topics in modern medicine? In THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST, director Miranda Bailey brings us a character study of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, one of 13 co-authors of a notorious 1998 paper in the UK medical Journal The Lancet, but who became the very public face of what has come to be known as “The Anti-Vax Movement.” An expat from Britain who currently resides in Austin, Texas, Wakefield allowed Bailey and her team to follow him and his family for five years beginning in 2011 as he fought a defamation battle in the courts against the British Medical Journal and journalist Brian Deer. The results of that case – and the self-reflection, pronouncements, and observations of Wakefield, his legal team, wife, and his children – create a complex and incisive look at one of our era’s most fear-provoking and continuously provocative figures. THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST takes no sides, instead letting Wakefield and the battles he fought speak for themselves.

Review:
Bailey did a good job on the whole, telling the story, and allowing the acutely obvious (Wakefield's integrity) speak for itself.

Film may still be in theaters through crowd demand via Gathr. Or stream on demand via Amazon Video.