Watch Framing John DeLorean

Framing John DeLorean is a gripping, docudrama-style film that explores the fascinating story of American automotive industry icon John DeLorean, a flamboyant engineer and executive who became widely known for his glamorous lifestyle and visionary ideas, but also for his involvement in a notorious cocaine trafficking scandal in the early 1980s.

Starring Alec Baldwin as John DeLorean, the film blends documentary footage, dramatic reenactments, and interviews with key figures from DeLorean's career and personal life, including his former colleagues, family members, lawyers, and even some of his mistresses. The result is a multifaceted portrait of a complex and enigmatic man who revolutionized the car market with his innovative designs and marketing strategies, but also struggled with personal demons and legal troubles.

The film begins with a brief overview of DeLorean's rise to fame as a young executive at General Motors in the 1960s, where he became instrumental in the development of iconic models such as the Pontiac GTO and the Chevrolet Vega. After leaving GM in 1973 to start his own company, the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), he embarked on the ambitious project of building a futuristic, stainless steel sports car equipped with gull-wing doors that would eventually become known as the DeLorean DMC-12.

As the film chronicles, however, DeLorean's grand vision was marred by financial setbacks and legal battles, including conflicts with his investors and suppliers, disputes over the production process, and clashes with government regulators. In this context, the film presents the turning point of DeLorean's life and career: his involvement in a high-stakes scheme to raise funds for his struggling company by selling millions of dollars' worth of cocaine with the help of a group of undercover FBI agents posing as drug traffickers.

The film explores this fascinating story from multiple angles, using interviews with the real-life participants and archival footage from the actual trial to shed light on the intricate web of deceit, betrayal, and greed that led to DeLorean's downfall. At the same time, the film also delves into the personal side of the story, revealing the emotional toll that the scandal took on DeLorean and his family, as well as the complex motivations and conflicting loyalties of his associates and enemies.

Throughout the film, Alec Baldwin delivers a remarkable performance as John DeLorean, capturing both his flamboyant charm and his tortured soul with precision and depth. Baldwin's portrayal is complemented by a strong supporting cast, including Josh Charles as Bill Collins, DeLorean's close friend and confidant, and Morena Baccarin as Cristina Ferrare, DeLorean's glamorous third wife and former model.

What makes Framing John DeLorean particularly compelling is its innovative approach to storytelling, which combines elements of documentary, drama, and meta-commentary to offer a unique reflection on the ways in which truth, memory, and perception shape our understanding of history and celebrity. In addition to the actual footage and interviews, the film also includes dramatizations of crucial moments in DeLorean's life and career, as well as behind-the-scenes glimpses into the making of the film itself, such as rehearsals, auditions, and discussions among the filmmakers.

In this way, the film becomes not only a tribute to John DeLorean's legacy as a maverick visionary and cultural icon, but also a meditation on the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction, authenticity and performance, legacy and myth. By challenging conventional categories and genres, Framing John DeLorean invites us to reconsider our assumptions about the stories we tell ourselves and the people we think we know, while also providing a thrilling and entertaining journey through one of the most fascinating sagas of modern American history.

Framing John DeLorean is a 2019 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.5 and a MetaScore of 67.