Medical documentary mini-series Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife is directed by Ben Steele and is an interesting investigative series into the shocking revelations about Paolo Macchiarini, a thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher, who turned out to be a fraud after investigations behind his patients’ mysterious death revealed shocking truths. However, his deep-seated manipulative behaviour had everyone around him convinced about his authenticity and also spilt over into the dating arena in a twisted game of lies and betrayal.
Each episode of the three-part miniseries has a runtime of around 50 minutes.
The miniseries starts with Macchiarini’s ex-partner and journalist, Benita Alexander, talking about how she was swept off her feet by him, while making a documentary on his “miraculous” stem cell research. We get her side of the story peppered in between the horrifying after-effects of Macchiarini’s botched surgeries, and although at first, you’d think it’s a bunch of happy memories in between absolutely horrible atrocities, it’s a different con that will leave you afraid to trust people at the end of the series.
Benita’s story might remind you of The Tinder Swindler – although not a medical professional, but a master manipulator who was just too good at trapping women with his outlandish and unbelievable claims. Benita getting conned is a bit more shocking because Macchiarini was such a public face that everyone knew about, but I think that is what made this con even more believable in hindsight. What makes Benita Alexander’s story even more interesting is the fact that she is a journalist, and her job is to look into stuff like this. So her putting her blinders on in such a manner is not just shocking but also fear-inducing in a way – why did he choose her?
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The documentary is pretty straightforward and doesn’t go too many ways – one is the romantic con, and the other is the medical one. The medical side of the story gets to the point right from the first minute, with Paolo Macchiarini’s patients mysteriously dying right after a “successful” surgery. When the unclear and uncertain moments turn into a surety, it becomes shocking to witness. After the series creates the base of Macchiarini’s deceit, it gets difficult to look away from the screen as more and more lies come to the forefront. The shocking play with real human lives is not just heartbreaking but also infuriating.
By the second episode, Macchiarini almost feels like a serial killer with a scalpel, which it actually turns out to be in the end. The interviews with ex-colleagues and investigative journalists are the most interesting, nauseating and frankly extremely disturbing to watch, and the docuseries does a fantastic job of combining the interviews with archival footage to make viewers even more engrossed. It gives the interviews enough attention and importance while linking visuals to create a deeper impact, making the gravity of this horrifying situation all the more real.
The miniseries does a really great job bringing the different facets of Macchiarini’s web of insane lies with images, interviews and archival footage. The fantastical aspect of the story makes it feel like a fictional thriller series, but the fact that this happened in real life might just throw you in for a loop. It takes a bit, honestly, to believe what is happening on screen, much like how I felt while watching Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, Fugitives. It makes you realise that people really need more information about scams and that the Pope is not gonna marry you off, regardless of how famous you are!
In episode three, the series sits down with Paolo Macchiarini for a brief moment. I think it’s also a bit difficult to understand when this happened, and also felt a little forced and made-up even. I mean, of course, it’s probably a rehearsed segment, but even then, a person who has used human lives for his own fame and gain shouldn’t even get a chance to say anything. One investigative journalist also discusses how the media made Paolo Macchiarini more than he ever was, and that’s also an interesting conversation that we don’t get too deep into, even though the media remains a looming third party in the background.
It’s also the last episode that will leave you stumped after the runtime ends. The docuseries does a good job of making us latch on to the stories of these horrible atrocities against human beings who get surgeries and trust their doctors. After everything, we are left with the question of taking all of the media, this documentary included, with a grain of salt. We don’t know who is telling the absolute truth or where the truth actually lies. It’s horrible that the makers of the Supercells documentary did not do their due diligence before releasing something this dangerous to the world and giving people hope.
Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife Review: Final Thoughts
In the end, Paolo Macchiarini’s story, and that of others like him, should be a reminder to everyone in the medical community that it’s necessary to veto surgeons whom they hire more thoroughly. That when patients constantly die under one doctor, it should raise everyone’s eyebrows, and people should take it seriously. It’s heartbreaking and hopeless to watch these shocking stories of gross misconduct and, frankly, murder and Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife does a really good job of showcasing the facts with the right amount of dramatic flair to leave you completely stunned and fixated.
The docuseries is streaming on Netflix.