On Roman Polanski

Written By: Rachel Grubb

So, it's been a while since my blog about the next Batman movie. I was going to respond to some of the comments and explain why I want to see an R-rated Batman sequel, but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I've got something else on my mind.

So, in case you missed it, Roman Polanski was finally apprehended after 32 years of evading justice for raping a 13 year-old girl. After he was convicted, he fled to France, where he was safe from extradition. Recently, he traveled to Zurich, Switzerland, to receive the Lifetime Achievment Award, and the Swiss authorities arrested him. And apparently, it's not enough that he's lived well and made movies for the past 30 years. The cries of, "Free Polanski!" have already begun among the Hollywood elite.

What is painful for me is that I love the man's work. I think he's made as powerful a contribution to filmmaking as any single human being can. I still remember seeing the shot of Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby, when she's behind the door, and how everyone in the theater turned their heads to one side to try and see her. And how I tried to mimic the shot in an experimental film for class. I remember being moved by The Pianist and disturbed by The Tenant. I even recall his charming cameo in Andy Warhol's Dracula.

I know that if Polanski hadn't fled justice, we wouldn't have The Pianist. That Oscar-winning film never would have been made, because Polanski would have been in prison. And that masterpiece was not made when Polanski was in the prime of his youth. The Pianist came out in 2002. So, it's quite possible that Polanski still has a few more masterpieces in him, and now that he's been apprehended, we're going to be deprived of his genius. But the blame for that lies not with the Swiss authorities, or the US judicial system, but with Roman Polanski. He's the one who had sex with a 13 year-old girl, and he alone is responsible for any repercussions.

Now it seems we're divided into two camps--Team Polanski and their counterparts, with each side telling the other, "You just don't understand!" And it goes both ways. Either you just don't understand what a terrible thing Polanski did, or you just don't understand what a brilliant filmmaker he was and continues to be. Well, I understand both of these things, and I'm not about to deny either one. My respect for his work does not have to be a defense of his actions.

I've been bothered by how the Polanski arrest has split people into extremes: Demon rapist or misunderstood genius. Any serious discussion of the severity of Polanski's crime has to turn into a discussion about why his films aren't really that important anyway. Poppycock. He's been very influential and has inspired many other filmmakers, including myself. He's had a few clunkers, but his best work deserves to stand alongside Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick.

Likewise, when you point this out, you are automatically lumped in with all of those who are using his genius as an excuse to call for his release. I say poppycock to that, too. It is possible for someone who is undeniably brilliant to have committed a heinous act and deserved to be punished for it. Any artist we admire could one day commit a morally reprehensible act. It doesn't have to nullify what their work has meant to us.