'Fauci' celebrates a life marked by public service -- and more recently, political attacks

"Fauci" celebrates a life devoted to public service and the politicization of the response to Covid-19, in roughly that order. A National Geographic presentation premiering on Disney+, the documentary was shot with Dr. Anthony Fauci's cooperation (but not his creative input or financial benefit), consciously seeking to humanize the man while capturing the absurd levels of vitriol heaped upon him.

Although the last 18 months figure prominently in public perceptions of Fauci, the film devotes considerable time to his role as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director combating the AIDS epidemic -- which also saw him attacked, in that case for the pace of the government's response -- and Ebola, just two of the public-health crises that have punctuated his long career.

Still, a bizarre shift occurred as Fauci's role addressing coronavirus clashed with then-President Trump's political priorities. Conservative politicians and pundits have vilified him, creating an atmosphere that his wife, Christine Grady, and daughter Jenny call surreal and "strange." (Fauci is shown arriving at work with a bodyguard, a tangible reminder of the threats he has faced.)