The Truth vs. Alex Jones is a 2024 American documentary film, directed and produced by Dan Reed. It follows families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, taking radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to court for spreading lies about the shooting.
| The Truth vs. Alex Jones | |
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 Official poster | |
| Directed by | Dan Reed |
| Produced by |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | David Schweitzer |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | HBO |
Release dates |
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Running time | 121 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024, and was released on March 26, 2024, by HBO.
Premise
editFamilies of victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting take radio host Alex Jones to court for spreading conspiracies and lies.[2]
Production
editDan Reed received exclusive access to the courtroom of the trial of Alex Jones, after the judge permitted cameras and microphones.[3] Reed attempted to interview Jones for the film, who declined. However, Jones would turn to the cameras and wink or smile, which Reed found strange.[4]
Release
editIt had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024.[5] It was released on HBO and Max on March 26, 2024.[6]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]
The Daily Telegraph's Anita Singh wrote, "What the families' lawyers – and this documentary – did so effectively was to show that Jones believes none of this and is simply out for financial gain. He knows that putting out garbage on his channel... brings online traffic and a resulting uptick in sales for the vitamin supplements he flogs", and gave the film 4/5 stars.[9] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian also gave it 4/5 stars, writing, "The madness of it, and the knowledge that Jones's rants are giving a certain rabid demographic exactly what they want, the dizzying sense of unreality and the multiplying questions as you watch – about how and why any of this can possibly be – fries your circuits even at this remove of time and space."[10]
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing: "Sharply edited, sensitively constructed, and expertly crafted. It's a reminder of how to tell this story well in a documentary film instead of dragging it out for the common docuseries trend."[11] Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast called it "A scathing portrait of Jones and the vile misinformation he spread about the Sandy Hook tragedy."[12]
See also
editOther documentaries that also featured Alex Jones:
References
edit- ^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". South by Southwest. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "HBO Original Documentary THE TRUTH VS. ALEX JONES Debuts March 26". Warner Bros. Discovery. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Hibberd, James (March 15, 2024). "Lies and their cost: With new documentary, filmmaker captures fight to hold Alex Jones accountable". Courthouse News Service. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Morfoot, Addie (March 11, 2024). "Why Dan Reed Wanted to Do a Doc on Alex Jones and Sandy Hook: 'We Are Sleepwalking Into This Era of Fantasy and Lies Becoming Mainstream'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2024). "SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics With Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Hibberd, James (March 12, 2024). "HBO Releases 'The Truth vs. Alex Jones' Trailer From 'Leaving Neverland' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Singh, Anita (2024-06-13). "The Truth vs Alex Jones, Sky Documentaries, review: a harrowing, borderline unbearable watch". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
- ^ Mangan, Lucy (2024-06-13). "The Truth vs Alex Jones review – so viscerally wrong it will fry your mind". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian (March 25, 2024). "The Truth vs. Alex Jones". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Peters, Fletcher (March 12, 2024). "Alex Jones Goon Admits He Should 'Go to a Mental Hospital' in Sandy Hook Doc". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.