An incredible story but it's going in a bit too many directions at once. Tonally, its all over the place.

Very well-done, complex and interesting documentary about a genuinely remarkable story.

The true story of sailing novice Donald Crowhurst's ill-advised round-the-world sailing venture poses many intriguing ethical dilemmas as well as illustrates just how far one man will go to preserve his integrity, even in the face of spirit crushing loneliness and near certain death. The end result of Crowhurst's misbegotten glory grab is never really in doubt but the story still makes at least two unexpected and fascinating turns before its final dissent into utter madness. Exceptional.

A genuinely incredible true story of a man who, literally, bets the house on his dreams & finds himself launching in2 ever-more untenable positions. The human drama's so relentlessly unpredictable had it been a work of fiction no one could believe it. Perhaps the most impressive thing is how even some of the ancillary sailor stories, specifically that of the Frenchman's & another involving what seems like an agenda-driven, 11th hour act of God, are just as jaw-dropping.

Let's just say the film does not go the path of celebrating man's unquenchable courage and knack for conquering adversity (though those are certainly elements at play). It's more psychological, and all the more fascinating. It's also, thanks to the use of archival footage and tape recordings, not a documentary that would be equally good as a book.