After the fall of Harvey Weinstein in October of 2017, it was pretty obvious that a plethora of documentaries chronicling the man, the myth, and most importantly the monster, would be on their way. Just a little over a year later Untouchable, a film by documentarian Ursula Macfarlane, was released. Untouchable mostly takes us down a road we’re all very familiar; Harvey Weinstein was a creep who used his clout and manipulative predatory tactics to sexually and mentally abuse women. He did these things for years, and despite now only recently reaching the public consciousness, whispers and rumors have been circulating around Hollywood for over a decade. Weinstein was definitely a scumbag. We all know this now, and unfortunately, this documentary does nothing to shed more light past anything else that has been revealed ahead of the #MeToo Movement, however, this film is necessary to eliminate these vile practices in the film industry and inspire fear into those who would abuse their powers in today’s landscape.
Admittedly, this film does feel rushed like it was desperate to beat other eager documentarians to the punch. Only one of the stories featuring two journalists was something I’d never heard of before, everything else was personal accounts and horror stories as told by some Weinstein survivors and former employees. I wanted to know more about this self-proclaimed Sheriff of the Film Industry. Where did he learn this disgusting behavior? How did he get so powerful that others would never dare to challenge him? I feel like these things were barely touched upon. We only get a few interview subjects who knew Harvey Weinstein before he was on top of the film world. I would have loved to hear more from them.
“…necessary to eliminate these vile practices in the film industry and inspire fear into those who would abuse their powers in today’s landscape.”
The documentary felt way too short, and I walked out learning basically nothing that I hadn’t already known before. There was no shocking revelation and no new perspectives. However despite its flaws, this is an important film that will keep monsters like Weinstein in check, and it will serve to remind them that their time is up. It’s a great service for the women who endured Weinstein’s abusive behavior to have a platform to tell their story, and their bravery cannot be overstated. I just feel like there’s more to know and more to learn from all of this, and in turn, a deeper exploration into this subject would enlighten and prevent these things from happening further on.
Untouchable is a competently made film, there’s nothing mind-blowing about the presentation of it, but the timely subject matter makes the aesthetic weaknesses more forgivable. This film is relevant and timely. This film will be important for many years to come. It will promote discussions and hopefully inspire other people to come out against their abusers and face them with courage and ferocity. There’s no reason for there to be people like Harvey Weinstein anymore, not in any professional field or personal relationship.
Untouchable (2019) Directed by Ursula Macfarlane. Untouchable screened at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
7 out of 10
