about patients suffering from purported chronic lyme disease and may even question the competence of clinicians who are reluctant to diagnose chronic lyme disease. all these factors have contributed to a great deal of public confusion with little appreciation of the serious harm caused to many patients who have received a misdiagnosis and have been inappropriately treated. the 2008 documentary film under our skin: the untold story of lyme disease opened june 19, 2009, in new york city. the film, made by a director whose sister self-identified with the condition, is based on the premise that chronic lyme disease exists. a columnist for entertainment weekly wrote of the film: embraces, with bits and pieces of skimpy evidence and a whole lot more paranoid leftist fervor, the notion that "chronic lyme disease" is a condition that the medical establishment is locked in a conspiracy to deny the existence of. the filmmakers actually bungle what should have been their real subject (that the belief in chronic lyme disease has become something of a cult, one that can ruin the lives of the people who think they have it). but the bottom line, to me, is that under our skin is not a very well-made movie.