Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Drew Dahle's Thoughts:
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired is a documentary by Marina Zenovich about the infamous Roman Polanski rape trial from the seventies. It was very interesting film recounting just what a joke the trial ended up being due to unlawful and ridiculous conduct by the publicity-seeking judge.
I appreciate the balance of the filmmaker because despite the circus the
trial ended up being, she still acknowledges the facts, that Polanski (director of Chinatown, The Pianist, children's movie Oliver Twist among others) is a man who admittedly gave alcohol and a Quaalude to a 13 year old girl and had sex with her, possibly raping her (the issue is a bit fuzzy). My personal feelings toward Polanski didn't change at all, he's still a disgusting, smarmy prick and not a great filmmaker in my eyes. Also, regardless of the way the trial went, he still has been, and is, a fugitive of the U.S. who refuses to be put on trial for crimes he admitted to.
Enough of the rant against Polanski. The film is well put together and paced, certainly one of the best documentaries of the year. The most interesting talking heads in the doc, were the two attorneys in the case. It was interesting to see the offense and defense attorneys agree and sympathize with each other throughout the case because of the judge's crazy actions. There isn't too much to say about the film itself other than summarizing the story it tells--which I'm not gonna do. It's well done, and definitely worth seeing and Lorenzo Semple (of Reel Geezers fame) makes a pretty funny surprise appearance.