One thing about trying to keep up with new releases is that it's so easy for stuff to pass you by. Fyre came out in January, and I only watched it recently, but hey better late than never, right? Honestly, it's not an accident that I didn't watch it when it came out, because it really didn't look like something I'd enjoy. The subject matter and culture it's based on couldn't be further from my life and interests, and it honestly looked a little obnoxious. But, sitting down and watching it, I actually quite enjoyed it, even if I didn't love it. I kind of refrain from talking about documentaries, because I'm not sure quite sure how to, but I'm gonna try to, because Fyre is pretty fascinating.
It helps that its subject is so interesting. The Fyre Festival was an absolute disaster, an event so rich with details that the documentary almost makes itself. The lead up is full of unbelievable truths, and watching everything build up, only to fall apart later, is fascinatingly painful to watch, even moreso when you factor in the pain and stress that it caused, something that the film is honest and empathetic in portraying. They never play any of the damage that this caused for pure entertainment, instead telling the best story possible, and the way that it examines the ideas of fraud and dishonesty is just fascinating. Putting Billy McFarland at the centre of it was a great choice, as he's not only the one who organised the whole thing, but also the anchor around which all of the larger ideas are built. It never shies away from the harsh truths and details, and honestly, I don't blame anyone here for being angry, because it is frustrating. It's a really frustrating watch, and I can't even imagine how frustrating it was to actually experience
The film gets by on its deeply interesting ideas and wild-but-true details, even with a runtime that's a little unnecessarily long, and an ending that underwhelms. Interesting as it was, I felt like I had seen enough of it about forty minutes in, and it never really develops past that, just kind of fizzling out in its ending. Look, there's so much here that's interesting, and so much that borders in the unbelievable, but the film just doesn't have the stamina to keep these ideas going, and by the end, I was still engaged, but I felt like the film had probably shown me everything that it had. Don't get me wrong, I really did like Fyre, and admired everything it tried to do, and if you haven't seen it, I'd definitely say watch it. It's really well made and really interesting, but probably not something I'd watch again
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