“Divide & Conquer” may not offer too many insightful biographical details about Roger Ailes, the controversially partisan, dishonest and notoriously monstrously-behaved former Fox News Chairman and CEO instrumental in making the conservative news cable channel the biased media behemoth that it is today. The politically savvy (likely the bulk of this film’s audience) will know “The Story of Roger Ailes”—the story of the most powerful man in media— but the fascinating documentary does at least frame the paranoid and fear behind Ailes’ deeply dubious ethos and his uncanny understanding of the medium of television and its massive influence.
Directed by Alexis Bloom (“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”), as its title suggests, ‘Divide & Conquer,’ zeroes in on Ailes’ interest in exploiting fear and weaponizing anger and how both could be manipulated as tools for distorting news and political gain. The doc also explores how these ideas took roots in the news mogul’s own life starting as a child.
‘Divide & Conquer’ begins at what should be a triumphant moment: the 2016 Republican convention and what is essentially the coronation of Donald Trump as the GOP choice for President, which should have been a victory lap for the Fox News Chairman. Instead, Ailes is ousted at the network in the middle of the mayhem —forced to resign or be fired amid allegations of sexual misconduct— and his sudden banishment overwhelms the event, becoming the breaking news of the day.
“Divide & Conquer: The Roger Ailes Story” fades from this drama and resets, rewinding to his childhood in Warren, Ohio, covering Ailes’ early days in media at “The Mike Douglas Show” and his transition to acting as media advisor to Richard Nixon. Ailes continues his reign, as he impacts political races across the country, leading to his rise and fall at Fox News and subsequent death one year later in 2017.
Bloom keeps a laser focus on Ailes’ 77 years of life in just 107 minutes, strictly sticking to the essentials of the tycoon’s history, yet sometimes to its detriment when key people in the story are mentioned and then quickly disappear, never to return. “Divide & Conquer” primarily centers on Ailes’ career in media and politics, his exploitation of power and abuse of women and the vile Venn diagram where these transgressions overlap. The director combines decades of archival footage, photos and talking head interviews with a variety of political players who knew Ailes throughout his career, including Glenn Beck, Pat Buchanan, an actor/director Austin Pendleton (a childhood friend). Some of the usual suspects are sycophantic, clearly in awe of the man’s intelligence, power, and political savvy, but many offer more critical perspectives and experiences.
Unsurprisingly and somehow still shockingly, it’s the insight from women whose careers Ailes ruined or tried to destroy that inspires the most reactions and revulsion. We know the big stories— sexual harassment lawsuits and allegations from the Gretchen Carlsons and Megyn Kellys of the Fox News world (neither of whom are interviewed here)— but the documentary reveals the length and depth of his gross misconduct and maltreatment of women at each point in his career.
In addition to the archival footage and contemporary interviews, Bloom uses stylized reenactments to bring to moments from Ailes’ story, and his own words, to life. Yet, the old-school TVs featuring clips of a shadowy, hulking Ailes-like figure distract from, rather than enrich the narrative; though learning that Bloom cast drag queen Babette Bombshell as the silhouette of the man himself is a fun bit of trivia, particularly in imagining what Ailes would think of the portrayal.
Even for those who do know Ailes’ history of profound power abuse and sexual harassment, “Divide & Conquer” is engrossing. Since the film opens with Ailes’ downfall, everything that proceeds it feels inevitable, yet it remains addictively watchable. Bloom’s take on Ailes is smart, sly and fun, but it’s always aware of the consequences of the man and the monster.
What’s most fascinating (and frightening) is Ailes’ continuing impact on both politics as a whole as well as specifically the medium of 24-hour cable news. Given everything already witnessed in the doc coupled with Fox’s fait accompli transformation into a deeply dishonest state-sponsored propaganda channel over the last two years, its final image of the intricate and self-serving bonds between Fox News and Trump is as horrifying as anything else you’ll see on this screen this year. It’s almost as terrifying as the thought that Roger Ailes was once the man who believed—or at least sought to peddle—the idea that what he and his new organization tried to sell, day in and day out, was remotely fair and balanced. [B]