Anyone else watching or watched “Allen Vs Farrow”?

[RickiTarr]

(NB I’m streaming it from Sky Documentaries via a Now stick. Sorry I’m not au fait with the non-streaming options.)

It is incredibly powerful, not just as an exploration of that particular case, but now - I am partway through episode 3 of 4 -is opening up into a exploration of abuse, so called “parental alienation syndrome”, society’s history of denying abuse and disbelieving abuse accusations reflexively.

I only meant to watch one episode and go to bed but it’s compulsive and so refreshing to hear the mechanics of grooming, coercion, sexual abuse etc set out so clearly in the MSM. I’m almost ridiculously grateful to the documentarians behind it, and so pleased for Dylan and Mia Farrow and family.

Not an easy watch by any means, but worth it.

The problem is that it's quite possibly, even likely, that the abuse allegations are false in this particular case.

The allegations were investigated and a hell of a lot has been written about them, but people like these keep looping back round as if the investigations never happened.

Here's another family member's account: mosesfarrow.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-son-speaks-out-by-moses-farrow.html

I’m a very private person and not at all interested in public attention. But, given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit.

I did read a long form article covering the investigations and their failure to make any sense of the allegations, but can't find it now. As I recall the problem wasn't just lack of corroboration, there was stuff that wasn't physically possible, there was an implausible lack of forensic evidence. None of the specific allegations held up.

Katie Herzog posted a little twitter thread about the doc the other day:

The thing about the Woody Allen doc is that it would be a lot more interesting if they actually presented the case for his innocence & included Moses and Soon-Yi’s allegations against Mia. Make the audience actually question what they know & wrestle with the nature of truth.

This is basically Mia Farrow PR. There’s nothing compelling about that.

It’s totally possible that everything Mia, Dylan, etc say about Woody Allen is true. But there’s no way I’m going to trust a film that only presents one side of the story.

Someone really could make a fascinating series about this saga. But “Allen v Farrow” ain’t it.

Ah, just found this detailed Hadley Freeman article on the doc, and the case more generally. That has lots of links:

Allen v Farrow is pure PR. Why else would it omit so much?

Haven't seen the doc, but I'm vaguely interested in this because it feels like mob dynamics - people determined to get the Bad Person, like the attacks on JK Rowling - so it seems critically important to try to stick to what we actually know rather than feel.

Watch it. It’s my only suggestion. There’s no point trying to retry the case here - yet again!

It addresses all of the above and also more stuff about structural societal issues. I posted here instead of just adding to the thread in telly addicts, precisely because I thought it would be of interest to feminists (esp episodes 3&4) almost despite the specific case.

It touches on #Metoo , on what happens when powerful men are accused - in terms of women & children getting a fair hearing - and Michael Jackson, Roman Polanski et al are also discussed.

Oh and also the other whole business of mothers’ losing custody for alleging abuse. It was very thorough on the social context.

I haven't watched the new doc but I remember reading the actual court documents a few years ago and I 100% believe Dylan. The judge found that 'Allen’s behavior toward Dylan was “grossly inappropriate and that measures must be taken to protect her.” '

Vanity Fair has some evidenced info here: www.vanityfair.com/news/2014/02/woody-allen-sex-abuse-10-facts The court docs are linked at the bottom. Worth a read.