Allen v Farrow

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The four-part documentary series Allen v. Farrow, from award-winning investigative filmmakers Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy, goes behind the years of sensational headlines to reveal the private story of one Hollywood's most notorious and public scandals: the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving Dylan, his then 7-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow; their subsequent custody trial, the revelation of Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi; and the controversial aftermath in the years that followed.


Along with new investigative work — pieced together via intimate home movie footage, court documents, police evidence, revelatory videotape and never-before-heard audio tapes — the series includes exclusive interviews on the subject with Mia Farrow, Dylan Farrow, Ronan Farrow, family friend Carly Simon, prosecutor Frank Maco, relatives, investigators and experts.



Allen v. Farrow also examines the effects of trauma on a family, and features prominent cultural voices exploring Allen's body of work in a broader context and reflecting on how public revelations about the personal lives of artists can lead to re-evaluations of their work.

This is going to be a very interesting documentary because for true crime buffs like myself when you look into the case it's fairly clear Woody didn't molest his daughter. However HBO is going all in on the Mia Farrow's side, I think the most telling part of the documentary is how we're only hearing from the white children.



Next time I subscribe to HBO, it’s on my watch list.

Sad thing to me is how much of her life Dylan Farrow has made this. Encouraged by her mother & brother.

I don’t believe for one minute Allen molested her.
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This is going to be a very interesting documentary because for true crime buffs like myself when you look into the case it's fairly clear Woody didn't molest his daughter. However HBO is going all in on the Mia Farrow's side, I think the most telling part of the documentary is how we're only hearing from the white children.
It doesn't surprise me a bit that HBO is going to lambast ole Woody, as he's ripe for the picking. If his career wasn't almost already over, this documentary will most likely finish it off. Oh, he'll still make some more movies, but even more people than ever are going to believe everything they're told about Woody, especially when it's 'content' by HBO...I mean after all a documentary is always truthful



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
The first episode was as even as they could make it. They had excerpis from Woody's 2020 audiobook and "testimony" from Woody's therapist saying there was no molestation. But that was really only a small part of the hour. It was mostly home movies edited together ro make things look "suspicious", combined with mostly current interviews with Dylan, Mia and her friends talking about Woody's inappropriate behavior and how Dylan always wanted to get away from him after a certain age. That and HBO Documentaries constant use of ominous music playing which sounds alike in all their "Social Problem" docs. It even has a closing page where you can confidentially report child abuse. It's well-made, highly-manipulative and worth-watching so far.
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The first episode was as even as they could make it. They had excerpis from Woody's 2020 audiobook and "testimony" from Woody's therapist saying there was no molestation. But that was really only a small part of the hour. It was mostly home movies edited together ro make things look "suspicious", combined with mostly current interviews with Dylan, Mia and her friends talking about Woody's inappropriate behavior and how Dylan always wanted to get away from him after a certain age. That and HBO Documentaries constant use of ominous music playing which sounds alike in all their "Social Problem" docs. It even has a closing page where you can confidentially report child abuse. It's well-made, highly-manipulative and worth-watching so far.
It’s such a tricky subject. I wish Dylan Farrow would stop playing the victim & make something of her life. But how’s she gonna do this now? She’s not gonna retract her story now. It’s firmly entrenched. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if she believes the story herself after all these years. Sad situation for her, but her desire & that of her mother to ruin Woody Allen’s life is indefensible.



I think the most telling part of the documentary is how we're only hearing from the white children.
Wait, so they don't talk to Moses? That's strange because he hasn't been shy to publicly offer his perspective on things. It would be journalistic negligence to not even address his on-the-record testimony.


I don't have HBO, so it might be awhile before I see it. One of the most baffling scandals I can imagine. I honestly don't know what's really going on in this family. About the only thing I'm certain of is that Ronan is a Sinatra.



I won't waste my time with this to be honest. I feel that they are just guilt-tripping most of the entertainment industry to back them or try and start a cancel culture crusade against the Hollywood elite who are so image-conscious these days. I think its just awkward now, having to watch these two tired camps throw **** at each other, with Hollywood caught in the middle trying to be dignified at best, and at worst down right cringey.



The Adventure Starts Here!
I had episode 1 on in the background last night while I was putzing on the computer. It definitely felt manipulative. I go into this without any real opinions about whether Woody is guilty, so I was hoping this was more like a real documentary than it is. The interviews with both Dylan and Mia just felt like stories they've both told so often for so many years that they feel rehearsed now.

Don't get me wrong: I've had a few life events in my distant past that I can now retell with some polish and sheen to them. And I definitely know that, if you go through a psychologically difficult experience, you tend to mull it over and rethink/overthink it for many years. Even to the point where you've constructed an entire way to deal and live with it.

But in the process, you MUST fight to not overinflate the actual circumstances, and also to not allow overly supportive friends to rally alongside you to let you exaggerate the events and the aftermath. Friends will want to be angry on your behalf, and then the whole thing escalates. Add on two very famous people and the whole thing gets infinitely worse.

So, it's tough to tell how much of their stories are true, or how much of it they have slowly exaggerated over decades to the point where they now believe the updated version. Despite being a woman, I am not an "always believe the woman's story" type. Women can lie and exaggerate just as men can, of course. Nothing in our genes makes us any more trustworthy. So, I don't go into this immediately believing either side.

So far, despite the first episode being almost exclusively Mia/Dylan-oriented, I'm not convinced.



I am not an "always believe the woman's story" type. Women can lie and exaggerate just as men can, of course. Nothing in our genes makes us any more trustworthy. So, I don't go into this immediately believing either side.
I agree.

I’m not on his side per se, but I believe Woody.

I can, however, see where Mia Farrow might be coming from. A place of extreme hurt & humiliation even though it was a million years ago. ”Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned” and all that.

Why Dylan persists with this, I have no idea. She always looks so sad - it’s a shame her entire life has been consumed by this.



The Adventure Starts Here!
I agree.

I’m not on his side per se, but I believe Woody.

I can, however, see where Mia Farrow might be coming from. A place of extreme hurt & humiliation even though it was a million years ago. ”Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned” and all that.

Why Dylan persists with this, I have no idea. She always looks so sad - it’s a shame her entire life has been consumed by this.
Agree on all that. And even if everything Dylan and Mia say is true, there's no point in letting anything like this completely take over your life. I had a few very bad life experiences that traumatized me at the time (I'd say clinical depression, anxiety attacks, thoughts of suicide, etc.), but at some point I had to make the decision about whether these incidents were going to ruin my life or just make up part of who I had become. Once you're sure the traumas themselves are completely over, it's time to make some decisions. In both of their cases (especially Dylan's), if you can talk about it that lucidly on camera and in print, then you're coherent enough and lucid enough to just get on with your life.

This is also how I feel about politics. If "my guy" doesn't win, I am sad but I move on. There's a life to live.

And if they're NOT telling the truth, egad--then Dylan is apparently confusing this with her possible 15 minutes of fame. Would've been better to simply DO something with her own life and not base it on telling horrid lies about someone else.

Well, okay, I guess I've said all of this two or three times now. I'm curious to see where the other three episodes go.



I had a few very bad life experiences that traumatized me at the time (I'd say clinical depression, anxiety attacks, thoughts of suicide, etc.), but at some point I had to make the decision about whether these incidents were going to ruin my life or just make up part of who I had become.
Yeah, been there, done that. Kudos to you if you accomplished this without therapy. You sound like a very strong woman.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Yeah, been there, done that. Kudos to you if you accomplished this without therapy. You sound like a very strong woman.
I didn't used to be. No therapy. But I DID have an awesome support system of people who were there for me in all ways I needed them to be.

Hoping your "been there" is now in the distant past for you as well.

I'm hoping this show talks to others besides just Dylan and Mia...



I didn't used to be. No therapy. But I DID have an awesome support system of people who were there for me in all ways I needed them to be.
Then you were very lucky.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Okay, I've finished the four episodes of this entire documentary. Where did I end up?

I think Woody Allen is guilty. I listened mostly to the evidences from parties other than those directly involved, which then led me to listen to Dylan's story more closely. I hate to say it, but I side with Mia and Dylan in terms of what actually happened. It was a well-done documentary, I thought, although I would have liked to hear directly from Woody, Moses, and/or Soon-Yi. Of course that wasn't going to happen, whether he was guilty or not.

I zeroed in on the unchanging story of Dylan (who, I learned, has not geared her whole life around telling this story, but rather has come back to it somewhat recently), the reasons why Allen was never formally prosecuted, and the many statements from people other than family members. Ronan Farrow was interesting to listen to, in particular. And I think Mia's motherhood credentials are no longer in question for me.

I found it interesting, for example, that more than once Allen complains in public statements that Mia is engaging in nothing more than a smear campaign--and then immediately engages in his own smear campaign about her sanity, her motherhood, and her personality.

Things like that started to add up for me as I continued to watch.

I'm surprised I came down on this side of this issue, having been a HUGE Woody Allen fan for most of my adult life. And I tried very hard not to be swayed by anyone's tears (they should have cut the bits out where Dylan was shaking, I think) or by anything other than fairly well established facts. And this is where I've landed.

So be it. I move on to binge-watch other stuff. Maybe it's back to another rewatch of Breaking Bad...



Moses Farrow's account (there was no train in the crawlspace; Woody was never out of his sight on the day; Mia had been grooming the family to see Woody as a child molester for weeks prior to the incident) is the most compelling evidence to make me question Woody's guilt. And the fact that he was excluded from the doc is the biggest red flag to make me question the integrity of the project.