SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2019 CAPSULE REVIEW - UNTOUCHABLE (2019)

In case you ever needed reminding of what a fucking deplorable, pig Hollywood mogul turned #MeToo pariah Harvey Weinstein is, then look no further than Untouchable. Ursula Macfarlane’s Untouchable doesn’t simply recount the industry altering investigative journalism that triggered the demise of Hollywood institution and Oscar oligarch; it appraises the forming of the Weinstein ecosystem. From concert promotion to Miramax, the Weinstein brothers’ boundless idolatry for old Hollywood rekindled a prestige engine that satiated an industry.

Macfarlane’s Untouchable focuses on capturing the harrowing accounts of victims throughout Harvey Weinstein’s career of abuse and presenting them in real time. The agony, disbelief and the breaking down of emotional and psychological roadblocks in the incredibly brave participants is necessarily uncomfortable. The patterns in their stories establish the framework for the investigation, but being presented with these accounts is their state of mind demonstrates the extent of Weinstein’s fear mongering manipulation.  

Macfarlane certainly acknowledges the discomfort and guilt left in the wake of the Weinstein saga for his closest associates and even attempts to frame this disorientating orbit around Weinstein of wealth, prestige and accolades that legitimised an entire generation of American filmmakers. The world of Weinstein had become so pervasive that those vulnerable prospective or barely established performers found themselves drawn into the gyre where Weinstein preyed upon their insecurity. 

One only wishes that MacFarlane had the breadth to contextualise the industry further. We’re left on the edges of true conception, (hopefully) grasping how hard it is to beyond the public tyrannical behaviour when your belly and your bank account are full.