"Allen v. Farrow" (2021 release; 4 episodes of about 55 min. each) is a documentary about the alleged sexual abuse by Woody Allen of then 7 yr. old Dylan Farrow, the daughter of Mia Farrow with whom Allen was involved at the time. As Episode 1 opens, we are at "The Plaza Hotel, NY, August 1992", and Allen addresses the frenzied press and flat-out denies the allegations made against him. We then go to "Connecticut" as Dylan Farrow mentions that "there is so much misinformation out there, and it's time that I speak out". Dylan looks back at at photo albums from back in the day when things were seemingly going so well. Then Mia Farrow gives her take on it: "It's my fault, I brought this guy into our family". At this point we are 10 min. into Episode 1.
Couple of comments: this documentary mini-series is directed by well-respected and veteran documentary makers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering ("On the Record", "the Invisible War", etc.). Here they reassess the sexual abuse allegations by Dylan Farrow against Woody Allen. It needs to be stated upfront: this documentary is NOT an objective assessment. Instead it is a part of the Farrow clan's version of what happened: Mia, Dylan, Ronan to be specific; Soon-Yi and Moses refused to collaborate (as did of course Woody Allen). What is striking in Episode 1 is the seemingly unlimited amount of video footage of the Farrow family in the 80s and early 90s (someone comments that Mia apparently was constantly videotaping the kids in those days). Woody Allen's version of the facts comes entirely from either public comments he made, of from the audio version which he himself narrated for his 2020 memoir "Apropos of Nothing"). Episode 1 carries us through early 1992, when Mia finds naked pictures of Soon-Yi taken by Woody Allen, and the remaining episodes look to be even more explosive. Even though this documentary mini-series is one-sided in its approach, I nevertheless will watch the remaining 3 episodes, so that I can make up my own mind, if that is possible.
"Allen v. Farrow" premiered on HBO this weekend, and Episode 1 is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. New episodes air Sunday evenings at 9 pm Eastern. I encourage you to check it and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this documentary mini-series is directed by well-respected and veteran documentary makers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering ("On the Record", "the Invisible War", etc.). Here they reassess the sexual abuse allegations by Dylan Farrow against Woody Allen. It needs to be stated upfront: this documentary is NOT an objective assessment. Instead it is a part of the Farrow clan's version of what happened: Mia, Dylan, Ronan to be specific; Soon-Yi and Moses refused to collaborate (as did of course Woody Allen). What is striking in Episode 1 is the seemingly unlimited amount of video footage of the Farrow family in the 80s and early 90s (someone comments that Mia apparently was constantly videotaping the kids in those days). Woody Allen's version of the facts comes entirely from either public comments he made, of from the audio version which he himself narrated for his 2020 memoir "Apropos of Nothing"). Episode 1 carries us through early 1992, when Mia finds naked pictures of Soon-Yi taken by Woody Allen, and the remaining episodes look to be even more explosive. Even though this documentary mini-series is one-sided in its approach, I nevertheless will watch the remaining 3 episodes, so that I can make up my own mind, if that is possible.
"Allen v. Farrow" premiered on HBO this weekend, and Episode 1 is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. New episodes air Sunday evenings at 9 pm Eastern. I encourage you to check it and draw your own conclusion.