Untouchable

This documentary does a wonderful job of pulling back the curtain and helping you understand how Harvey Weinstein was able to get away with his crimes so long, how it impacted those that he hurt, and why they kept silent. It's a documentary that pulls no punches yet never feels overly salacious. It is thoughtful, fascinating, and disturbing.

Harvey Weinstein was a sexual predator for several decades, he used his power, fame and size to force himself on women and covered it up with restrictive non disclosure agreements. His world came crashing down in 2017 when more than 75 women made allegations of inappropriate behaviour to sexual assault.

Many of these allegations had similarities regarding how Weinstein operated by bringing women alone to his hotel suite where he would quickly get naked like it was natural. Cajoling them to massage him, getting enraged if he was rejected.

As Untouchable went on the testimonies of the women got more harrowing. Yet Harvey Weinstein regarded himself as untouchable, the self proclaimed sheriff who would use his bullying powers to shut critics up. After all his film company Miramax made a name for themselves when it came to their aggressive Oscar campaigns.

However journalists such as Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor ploughed on with their investigations and eventually broke the story in the New York Times. Later Ronan Farrow gathered eye witness accounts for the New Yorker magazine.

Harvey Weinstein's world crumbled and his company went into trouble. He sought shelter behind a rehab clinic to get over his problems and pleaded for second chances.

Some main players were missing in this documentary such as Rose McGowan who at first was vilified for going public with her allegations. However this documentary allowed his less well known accusers an opportunity to tell their tale.

It quickly led to the #MeToo movement. Whether anything in Hollywood change, only time will tell. Women and men are always going to be at risk if producers, investors, directors and others in the performing arts think they are entitled to sexual favours to further careers.

This documentary explains the story behind the New York Times article as well as Ronan Farrow's The New Yorker article detailing the abuse, harassment, threats and rape that Harvey Weinstein allegedly committed for decades. Decades! It goes way back to his school years with interviews, photos and videos piecing his rise and then his fall. I thought it was going to be too slow when the documentary began but then it wraps you up and takes you on a ride telling a heartbreaking, appalling story. Using interviews from actual women who were attacked, as well as former employees, it bolsters its case perfectly. Most likely Harvey will either plead or be imprisoned or both ( innocent until proven guilty) but in the meantime this story made me know what wrath he caused and know that women are safer with this 'man' gone. My heart breaks for the damage he caused so many. Thank you for telling your stories.

This film provides some insight but leaves you with many questions as to why and how this monster was allowed to roam the streets for so long. A deeper dive needs to be taken into this topic with expansion on the how's. . so many in the entertainment industry are aware of the "dirty little secrets" of these rich and powerful (mostly men) in the industry who prey upon the vulnerable using their wealth and power . . . So many time we hear only after decades of abuse - Cosby, Epstein, Kelly to name just a few. Why ? Why do people not want to believe the accusers? Why do the enablers not face consequences for their complicity ? Why does our justice system fail the victims time and again?

We know the facts about Harvey Weinstein. We've read them in the papers or heard about them in the news. What this documentary adds, is the story behind the facts. The incredible story about how this man was able to get away with so much misbehaviour for such a long period. The film shows how his power, his success, and his personality made him get away with anything. It made him, yes, untouchable. A big part of the documentary consists of Weinstein's victims talking to the camera about their unfortunate experiences. Not only actresses, but also a journalist who was physically threatened and verbally abused by Weinstein, as well as several staff members of Miramax. The personal accounts are powerful, at some moments the actresses are visibly very emotional. Director Ursula Mcfarlane does a very good job capturing the distress and damage Weinstein has caused them. The contrast with the archive footage of Weinstein laughing, partying and celebrating is striking. One fragment of the documentary struck me in particular: people in popular TV shows openly joking about Weinsteins reputation with women, and referring to the rumours that apparently were common knowledge in Hollywood. 'Untouchable' is a devastating film for Weinstein, but the good thing is that it ends with a positive message. After the disclosure of his misconduct, the world has become a different place, without any tolerance for misogyny or gender related power abuse.