I packed like a scout to attend an early screening of the Musk documentary on Saturday. I stocked up on protein bars, put on my comfiest outfit that is appropriate for public view, and made sure I had plenty of fluids. After all, this documentary clocks in at a whopping nearly four hours with one ten-minute intermission. And given the subject matter, I needed to be prepared for anything. 

Still, I wasn’t ready for what awaited me at the theater in Manhattan. Unlike any movie I’ve seen before, this one came with a security screening. An attendant checked my bag and waved a handheld metal detector over my body before letting me go downstairs. It might have been security theater, but there was a real reason for it. On the table behind the attendants was at least one photo of a threatening individual to keep an eye out for, someone who was not allowed inside. 

Presumably, that was because of who else was in the building. Ashley St. Clair, a former conservative influencer and the mother of one of Elon Musk’s young children, was there for a post-screening Q&A with a journalist and the documentary’s director, Alex Gibney. She was flanked by multiple security guards throughout the panel discussion. Her presence and theirs were a stark reminder of why this documentary needs to exist—and why it has to be so long.