Together, subject and viewer leap into a fairy tale, a place where parents and children want for nothing. Reed weaves Sunday’s opening two hours so as to evoke the sensation of a waking dream, with two families describing the magical way their paths crossed with Michael Jackson’s when he was the most famous star on Earth. To sit with it is to welcome the end of any still-held illusions about the man, however gently. What can more accurately be said is that it deals a carefully measured, precise blow to any remaining qualifications harbored by those still reconciling themselves with the King of Pop's legacy. That describes millions of people around the world and, I daresay, much of America. Given the insistent reluctance with which fans of lesser deities than Michael Jackson meet accusations of criminal behavior on the part of those stars, it is folly to think that Dan Reed’s four-hour documentary, presenting the stories of two men who allege Jackson sexually abused them for years, will change the minds of most of the late pop icon’s fans. on HBO, should be that bludgeoning force for a number of people who see it. “ Leaving Neverland,” airing Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. Abuse and assault survivors have been known to describe their identities that way, with the split between who they were and who they are enacted by some dread that rammed into their lives without warning, breaking what was from what is with the blunt cruelty of a maul. Eventually, Allen seemingly came around to the idea of procreating and, although they struggled to conceive, they ultimately decided to adopt.There is before, and there is after. There are tales of how they used to signal their love for one another across Central Park and that although he seemingly he had no interest in kids, she thought it could still work. While Farrow wondered who would want to date anyone with seven children, Allen thought she couldn’t be “nicer, sweeter or more attentive to my needs”, listing “more culturated” and “appropriately libidinous” as two of her main qualities during his Apropo recollections. Then, we get twin accounts of how Allen and Mia Farrow met, thanks in a large part to Michael Caine.
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Amongst the Farrows’ archive material are home videos and photos, while judiciously chosen media interviews help add colour, depth and, thankfully, the odd, lighter moment.Įpisode 1 acts as a perfect and well-pitched primer, with a group of female film critics detailing just why Allen and his movies struck a chord, particularly with women (“he made neuroses hilarious” and his “mortifying self-disclosures” made him “very human, very relatable”). Woody Allen steps out with adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, while Mia Farrow follows with son Satchel (now known as Ronan).Ĭleverly, as well as court testimony and jaw-dropping phone calls taped by Mia Farrow, as the fallout from their relationship turned seriously ugly, Ziering and Dick are able to present Allen’s voice and side of the story from the audiobook version of his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing.
Emotions are very much on display and every viewer will have their own take on mother and daughter Farrow’s heartfelt testimony. Farrow is definitely not a cold-eyed, dispassionate look at the facts. Yes, with Allen and his supporters unsurprisingly choosing not to be involved in the production, Allen v. Her aim is to set the record straight and, in one of many magnificent soundbites, tells us, “no matter what you think you know – it’s just the tip of the iceberg”. I’ve been subject to doubt, scrutiny and humiliation, as well as sleepless nights and panic attacks”. Farrow, “there has been so much misinformation, lies and obfuscation. Dylan Farrow has written op-eds and open letters to major US newspapers, while Moses and Soon-Yi claim it was Mia Farrow who was the child abuser in the family.Īs Dylan Farrow puts it in the opening moments of Allen v. Farrow features almost forensic detail, heartwrenching testimony and bitter recriminations as it details the decline of the relationship between actor Mia Farrow and film-maker Woody Allen.ĭespite Allen claiming to have been vindicated, as with Michael Jackson, the allegations and rumours have persisted over the ensuing decades.