The Pathological Optimist

2017
TV-14
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

4.8/10

181

YOUR RATING

Andrew Wakefield in The Pathological Optimist (2017)

In the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license for his infamous study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism. THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST takes us into the inner sanctum of Wakefield and his family from 2011- 2016 as he fights for his day in court in a little known defamation case against the British Medical Journal. Wakefield attempts to clear his name as the media-appointed Father of the Anti-vaccine movement. Director Miranda Bailey weaves a delicate portrait of a man who is THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST utilizing a never-before-seen, full access look at the man at the center of one of the biggest medical and media controversies of our times.

Play trailer1:52

1 Video

3 Photos

Biography Documentary

In the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license f... Read allIn the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license for his infamous study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism... Read allIn the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license for his infamous study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism. THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST takes us into the inner sanctum of Wakefield and his family fr... Read all

Director
- Miranda Bailey
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.8/10

181

YOUR RATING

Director
- Miranda Bailey
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins total

Videos1

Trailer 1:52

Official Trailer

Photos2

User reviews11

4.8181

Featured reviews

10nursewithpurse-980-275657

Definite must see

SO disappointed in DiNero and Tribeca for caving into pressures to quash Wakefield's story

1outoutpatient

Not a documentary, more of a puff piece

Wakefield is given all the space in the world to garner sympathy and espouse his unscientific ideas without anything close to resembling an examination from this woefully poor filmmaker. Don't waste your time on this tripe.

8harryokin

Thoughtful and interesting.

Having always felt really uncomfortable with the mass hysteria that follows Wakefield it's good to see a movie that at least puts some of the other side over. If he had an incentive to make his (the group's) research come to an answer where he might profit, the other side does times about a 1000. A great film to counterbalance the stifling of a rounded debate, not helped by universities denying Wakefield access to state case.

8glindsay34

Are you brainwashed?

Popular folklore suggests that the people of North Korea were so successfully brainwashed that they believe that Kim Jong Un's father, when he was leader, beat Tiger Woods at a round of golf - including several 'hole-in-ones'. Whether the North Korean's fell for this story or not is hardly the point. The big questions are "Are you brainwashed?", "Why are you brainwashed?" and, "Who benefits from my brainwashing?".

It would surprise many to be told that the brainwashing inflicted on the West is far worse than that inflicted on the North Koreans. It can be very harmful to those unable to see the damage being done, and especially harmful to the career of anyone who dares to speak out.

The Pathological Optimist is one such story.

8/10

1melskaya

Wish I could give this a negative star...

This "documentary" (and I'm using that term very loosely here) is little more than an attempt at making Wakefield look sympathetic and misunderstood. Its completely biased towards Wakefield and I've done my own research into the article in BMJ, the study, the studies done into the MMR vaccine. He's an egocentric who fed the Kool-Aid to a bunch of people and the result was diseases like measles and mumps coming back and herd immunity disappearing. Lives are being lost because of this guy.

Anderson Cooper has a great clap at Wakefield. That was the best part of this... claptrap.