Review of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) by Mark J — 10 Nov 2010

While the filmmaker begins with the illusion of objectively presenting Roman Polanski's story, by the end of the film it becomes clear that her primary interest is in showing how a showboating judge "did him wrong.".

There is a short section where, by juxtaposing the testimony of the victim & Mr. Polanski, it becomes clear that what occurred is substantially more problematic than "unlawful sex" - yet almost no one interviewed in the film deals with that reality. Instead, it's a heap of soft pop psychology about the nature of Mr. Polanski's character and the difficulties of his life & the odd vagaries of the American justice system circa the 1970s.

I think the reason that so many of the critics like the film is that they admire his films... and so want to impart some measure of respectability upon the man who made them. (This is no different than the way American sports fans excuse the behavior of star players - and it's a really a sad commentary on our unwillingness to hold people responsible for their actions.).

The film itself is well-made but extremely slow... at times, irritatingly so.