Totally Under Control

Totally Under Control is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger, from a screenplay by Gibney. It follows the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, often comparing the American response to that of South Korea.[2] It was released on October 13, 2020, by Neon.

Totally Under Control
Official promotional poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Alex Gibney
  • Ophelia Harutyunyan
  • Suzanne Hillinger
Written byAlex Gibney
Narrated byAlex Gibney
Music by
  • Peter Nashel
  • Brian Deming
CinematographyBen Bloodwell
Edited by
  • Lindy Jankura
  • Alex Keipper
Production
companies
  • Jigsaw Productions
  • Play/Action Pictures
  • Participant
  • Yellow Bear Films
Distributed byNeon
Release date
  • October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13) (United States)
Running time
123 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Production

Alex Gibney initially pitched the idea of making a documentary about the COVID-19 pandemic and rushing it for release prior to the presidential election to the head of Neon, Tom Quinn, who liked the idea. Gibney knew by working on a tight deadline he could not complete the film himself bringing on co-directors Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger.[3] Gibney decided to make the film in April after a friend of his had passed away from COVID-19 and another friend was on a ventilator, feeling as though the United States government failed to contain and control the virus.[4]

Due to the pandemic making it difficult to film, cinematographer Ben Bloodwell came up with a kit called "COVID-cam"[5] that was sent to subjects in the film, which they would pick up and begin recording themselves.[6] The kit, consisting of a DSLR camera and microphone, once connected to the Internet, would allow Bloodwell to see the image and control and adjust the camera settings.[5] With some subjects, the crew would rent out an Airbnb and isolate a portion of the room for the crew using a plastic shower curtain, while the interviewee would sit on the other side.[5]

Release

In September 2020, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film.[7] It was released on October 13, 2020.[8]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Totally Under Control holds an approval rating of 99%, based on 88 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.70/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Totally Under Control does a commendable job of distilling current events into a clear-eyed overview that's as engaging as it is enraging."[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

References
  1. "Totally Under Control". Neon. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. Bramesco, Charles (October 7, 2020). "Totally Under Control review – shocking film on Trump's failure to handle Covid-19". The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  3. Thompson, Anne (October 14, 2020). "'Totally Under Control' Documentary: COVID Is Not, and Alex Gibney Found Out Why". IndieWire. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  4. Boone, John (October 29, 2020). "'Totally Under Control' Directors Talk White House Corruption and Trump's COVID Diagnosis (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  5. Thompson, Anne (October 14, 2020). "'Totally Under Control' Documentary: COVID Is Not, and Alex Gibney Found Out Why".
  6. Aquillina, Tyler (October 15, 2020). "How Totally Under Control pulled off a secret, explosive COVID-19 documentary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  7. Day-Ramos, Dino (September 10, 2020). "'Totally Under Control': Neon To Release Alex Gibney Docu About White House's Failed Response To Pandemic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  8. Nolfi, Joey (October 2, 2020). "Scientists expose Trump's pandemic response in Alex Gibney's COVID-19 doc trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  9. "Totally Under Control (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  10. "Totally Under Control Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 1, 2021.


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