Woody Allen thinks cancel culture is “silly”
And why wouldn’t he? If you’re a powerful white middle-aged/elderly man, you never really get cancelled at all
Woody Allen at the Venice Film Festival. Not your usual red carpet draw
It’s the 80th Venice Film Festival this week. You might have missed it, after all it’s been a considerably less starry affair than usual thanks to the ongoing actors and screen writers (SAG-AFTRA) strike. This, I keep telling myself, is one of the reasons that Venice has not just given a platform to three directors accused* of sexual predation, but shown them so much love. (*It’s important to note all three have denied the allegations. I have spent too much of my career having my copy redacted by media lawyers, not to point that out!)
I give you:
Woody Allen – whose work I confess I adored until I could no longer justify it. His films formed such a huge part of my student years that it still breaks my heart that I can no longer, in good conscience, spend a happy Sunday afternoon watching Annie Hall or Manhattan. Allen was given a lengthy standing ovation for his new film Coup de Chance, a French thriller widely regarded as his best film in a decade. Now 87, Allen has long been persona non grata in the eyes of many as a result of allegations of “sexual misconduct”, but let’s not let that get in the way of a genius at work. The standing ovation was followed by a press conference where not one “tricksy” question was asked. Because art.
Roman Polanski – ditto but this time Rosemary’s Baby. His latest movie, The Palace, an apparently tone deaf sex comedy set at a dinner party in a luxury hotel, was also believed to be a contender for the Lion D’Or, alongside Allen, until the critics saw it. It has since been dubbed, “largely unwatchable”, “dire” and worse than “Xanadu and Howard The Duck”… Polanski was indicted on six charges related to drugging and raping a 13 year old in 1978 and, now 90, has lived and worked outside America ever since. But still got an airing at one of the world’s premiere film festivals. Because art.
Luc Besson – ditto Leon which is, with 21st century eyes, transparently problematic, but I loved long time, and The Fifth Element, which is Bruce Willis’s finest work IMHO. (Well, neck and neck with the Die Hard Christmas one!) Besson also received a standing ovation (reportedly six minutes long) for the world premiere of Dogman, his movie about an abused young man finding meaning through dogs. The premiere comes hot on the heels of a French appeal court rejecting a claim to reopen a rape case against him (of which he was cleared) after nine other women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
Because art. Also because patriarchy.
Let’s be clear, these men are in very different situations, but the question that niggles at the back of my brain long after the echoes of the standing ovations have dispersed is this: who gets to have a second or a third or a fourth chance? Who gets to bounce back from scandal, accusations and recriminations? Who has nine professional lives? To judge by this year’s Venice Film Festival, the answer is powerful middle-aged/elderly white men.