There’s no biopic material about the Jackson 5 or extended concert footage. It's important to note that this is not Michael’s story. We only hear Michael's voice in archival footage from news reports and home videos shot by the boys or messages MJ left for them. Both men speak candidly and explicitly, and their stories form the entirety of the nearly 240 minutes of “Leaving Neverland.” We only hear from the men and their families, including the mothers who now feel so much guilt about what happened and their wives who were there after Michael’s death when the truth finally came out.
“Leaving Neverland” focuses with laser intent on two men and their families: Wade Robson and James Safechuck. At its best, “Leaving Neverland” tries to balance the volume. But, as we’re learning more and more with cases of abusive predators, we need to listen more carefully because the abuser often has the power and platform to yell louder.
This film doesn't stop that from being true. However, again, a film is not a trial, and “Leaving Neverland,” the controversial 4-hour documentary about two of his accusers, is a powerful demand to listen to the other side too. Jackson and his fans have made that stance clear over and over again, and, of course, it’s worth noting that he’s been acquitted by our legal system. But, as to this case, let’s stop pretending that we haven’t heard over and over again from Michael Jackson’s camp about the claims that those who have accused him of sexual abuse of boys are just money-hungry liars. There are journalists for that (and there have already been some great pieces from that angle about the allegations contained within this movie). Sure, you can question the testimonies presented in a film and the filmmaker's perspective, and sometimes you should. It is not a critic's or film goer’s role to investigate the facts presented in a documentary. Every documentary comes from a perspective, even the ones that don’t make that perspective blatantly clear.
It is not a place where there’s a legal requirement for cross-examination or demand for a burden of proof. First things first, although I know this won’t matter to the people mounting a campaign against this project: a film is not a trial.
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