Some Drivel On...False Positive

If anyone outside Track and Field circles remembers Harry “Butch” Reynolds, it is likely not as the time one-time 400meter world record holder nor even as a 1988 Summer Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist but as the runner who in 1990 tested positive for anabolic steroids. It was a result he not only publicly protested but actively fought. The US Track and Field Congress exonerated him, but, in the byzantine world of the sport, the International Athletic Association did not, upholding a 2-year ban barring him from the 1992 Summer Olympics. His case against using steroids was more than compelling, really, it was virtually open and shut, and the new ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “False Positive” directed by Ismail Al-Amin lays it out in great detail, drawing from a range of interviews from Reynolds, lawyers, and coaches. In a sport where so many innocents are presumed guilty, one who really does seem to have been innocent, is still remembered for being guilty, a rich if wretched irony that “False Positive” notes without contrasting too harshly against myriad other presumed culpable athletes. And though “False Positive” does a good job telling the whole Butch Reynolds story, it is impossible not to come away thinking this isn’t just some overview but advocacy.

As a movie, “False Positive” mostly sticks to the house style of 30 for 30 documentaries, meaning a mixture of archival footage and myriad talking heads. Especially when it comes to the specifics of Reynolds’s case and what sure seems like his innocence, however, those talking heads become necessary; even with a few visual aids, there isn’t really a way to elucidate exactly what happened without telling you exactly what happened. But Al-Almin ultimately proves clever in his deployment of those talking heads. Everyone is either looking to the left or the right of the camera, save for Reynolds, who is positioned directly in front of it in close-up with a black backdrop, underlining the intensity, looking right at us and asking us to believe him. That becomes even more acute in the ending. If Reynolds cops to a dark night of the soul in the aftermath of the IAAF refusing to clear his name, he still manages to come around and lead a happy life, though that does not automatically engender a happy ending. “False Positive” ends with Reynolds on a track in the present day. He emerges from the starting blocks, runs a short way, and then stops, breaking the moment’s spell by looking right into the camera. And so, when a subsequent title card flashes up indicating the IAAF chose not to comment when reached by the director and producers, you can practically feel them looking away in shame.