The Beautiful Truth

2008 | Documentary

Synopsis

A troubled 15-year-old boy attempting to cope with the recent death of his mother sets out to research Dr. Max Gerson's claims of a diet that can cure cancer as his first assignment for home-schooling in this documentary from filmmaker Steve Kroschel (Avalanche, Dying to Have Known). Garrett is a boy who has always been close to nature. He lives on a reserve with a menagerie of orphaned animals, and over the years he's become especially sensitive to the nutritional needs of the diet-sensitive animals he's charged with caring for. When Garrett's mother suffers a tragic and untimely death, the boy falls into a dangerous downward spiral and nearly flunks out of school. Increasingly concerned for Garrett's well-being and determined to strengthen their bond despite the many challenges on the horizon, his father makes the decision to begin home-schooling the distressed teen. Garrett's first assignment: study a controversial book written by Dr. Max Gerson, a physician who claims to have discovered a diet that's capable of curing cancer. Is Dr. Gerson's therapy truly the legitimate, alternative cure it appears to be? In order to find out the truth behind this long-suppressed treatment, Garrett interviews not only Dr. Gerson's family members, but various doctors, skeptics, and cancer patients as well. His studies completed and his findings revelatory, Garrett now sets out to tell the entire world about The Gerson Miracle.

Scores

Overall Score
58.4
Popularity Percentile (Year)
85.5%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
11.5%
Review Aggregate
79.4

Critic Consensus

74.2% Fresh • 213 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 74% of 213 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize thin plot, character-driven, historical. Common reservations focus on thin plot, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

thin plotcharacter-drivenhistoricalemotionalupliftingsuspensefulstylizedpsychologicalvisually strikingromantic

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Russell Crowe2008$3,691,000$5,378,000(est)
Ed Harris2008$2,272,000$3,310,000(est)
Jennifer Connelly2008$1,711,000$2,492,000(est)
Paul Bettany2008$1,399,000$2,038,000(est)
Adam Goldberg2008$1,196,000$1,743,000(est)
Judd Hirsch2008$1,053,000$1,534,000(est)
Josh Lucas2008$945,000$1,377,000(est)
Anthony Rapp2008$861,000$1,254,000(est)
Christopher Plummer2008$793,000$1,155,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score74.0
RT critic review count214
Rotten Tomatoes audience score93.0
RT audience rating count250,000
IMDb rating6.9
IMDb votes659

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic2008$15,387$22,419
International2008N/AN/A
Worldwide2008$15,387$22,419

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue2008$7,694$11,210
Digital Rentals ?2008$225,000$327,833
Digital Purchases ?2008$80,000$116,563
Physical Rentals ?2008$1,866,000$2,718,830
Physical Purchases ?2008$3,867,000$5,634,361
TV & Streaming Revenue2008$75,000$109,278
Total Revenues2008$6,120,694$8,918,075
Expenses
Budget ?2008$250,000 (est)$364,259 (est)
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?2008$80,000 (est)$116,563 (est)
Participations2008$245,000$356,974
Residuals ?2008$431,000$627,983
Interest & Overhead2008$50,000$72,852
Total Expenses2008$1,056,000$1,538,631
Movie Net Profit or Loss2008$5,064,694$7,379,444

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