Scandal- and tragedy-plagued director Roman Polanski is an ideal
documentary subject: He’s a Holocaust survivor; his actress wife was
killed in the Manson Family massacre; he directed Rosemary’s
Baby and Chinatown; and he won an Oscar in 2003 for The
Pianist. Oh, and he couldn’t accept that Oscar in person, because
he pled guilty to “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor” back in
1978 (then 44, he possibly drugged and definitely had sex with a
13-year-old at Jack Nicholson’s house), fleeing to France before
sentencing, which means his punishment’s still pending if he re-enters
the US.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a doc that focuses mainly
on the director’s legal troubles and shabby treatment by the press and
one impartial, publicity-hungry judge, is enormously compelling; both
Polanski’s defense attorney and his prosecutor agree his case was
grossly mishandled, and even his victim is ready to forgive and forget.
But since director Marina Zenovich is mainly interested in telling the
fascinating, unheard tale of Polanski’s power-tripping judge, she gives
Polanski’s own culpability disappointing short shrift—judicial
unfairness aside, the man did have sex with a 13-year-old and skip the
country.
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2009.
