A new tell-all documentary follows the life of controversial Australian Rules footballer Ben Cousins. Such Is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins includes footage of the Richmond footballer admitting he's a drug addict, and emotional scenes as his family struggle to cope. The end result is deeply emotional and compelling. It's a cautionary tale - the inside story of a superstar footballer who made some bad choices along the way and ended up in a titanic struggle with drug addiction.
Direction
Goldman's patient, non-judgmental lens lets tragedy unfold organically.
Editing
Jarring cuts between glory days and gutter moments hit hard.
Acting
Cousins' on-camera admissions feel terrifyingly unscripted.
Director
Paul Goldman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
AFL culture in the 2000s actively protected star players from consequences; this film helped expose that complicity. Cousins was still playing when it aired.
Director Paul Goldman faced legal threats from Cousins' management during production. The title references Ned Kelly's famous last words—Cousins' own ironic self-mythologizing.
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