Who is Ghislaine Maxwell review: Makes the most of its subject but could have done more

In a sequence from the three-part documentary Who is Ghislaine Maxwell, a couple who managed Little St James, a private island in the Carribean tell the interviewer “We never saw anyone leave the island in tears”. The wife, hesitantly revisits that statement within the course of the conversation before the husband gently ushers her to a place of non-commitment. It’s an eerie slice of a documentary that isn’t exactly revelatory but feels bottom-line urgent for all that it represents. While media mogul Jeffrey Epstein’s extravagant and ultimately abusive lifestyle has been well documented, be it through exhaustive print reportages or video files, Maxwell’s identity as partner-in-crime has rarely been explored to this depth and visibility. Here in this stomach-churning documentary, victims and witnesses try and demystify the woman who not only enabled, but participated in the active abuse of women. To an extend the documentary succeeds in unpeeling a handful of layers. Largely though, it mystifies the woman even further, which in the world of true crime documentaries, isn’t the worst thing.

Maxwell became a prominent member of London’s social scene, as she worked alongside her father Robert. After her father’s death, Maxwell shifted bases to New York where she came in contact with Epstein and began a courtship/arrangement that many in the documentary try and analyse. Some say it was an understanding more than a relationship, while some close friends of Maxwell believe she was herself a victim of Epstein’s toxicity. There aren’t exactly revelations here, apart from some earnest answers to difficult questions in the broader context of things. A former friend of Epstein claims he never quite knew what was happening on the mogul’s island and that he is lucky to not have found out. It’s hard to take this kind of high-road sincerity in the aftermath of the many scandals Epstein was part of, but is telling nonetheless of the way social elitism works.

Which is where the documentary misses a punch. The Epstein saga is about elitism and classicism as much as it is about sex and abuse. But rarely does the documentary point upward with the kind of teeth required to undress social elitism that wears itself as philanthropy. To which effect, elite socialites in some of the world’s biggest cities not only live suspicious lives, but also curate an image that is hand in glove with their broader plans. Maxwell, for example, ran a trust directed at saving the oceans. All the while she was coaxing and hiring women – including minors – to satisfy Epstein’s perverse lifestyle. The documentary could have framed a better argument around the deprivation of the socially elite, but it instead remains focussed on the Epstein scandal and its devilish outcomes.

Perhaps credit has to be given for a series that manages to get a number of statements from Epstein’s many victims. The sordid details of their bizarre encounters with Epstein and Maxwell make for difficult viewing, and possibly even worse visualising. Maxwell comes across as this black-hearted, duplicitous woman who could have possibly been more depraved than the ones she was enabling. Not only did Maxwell, recruit women for Epstein on a daily basis, she even performed alongside them. It’s absurdist to the point that you cannot help but ask why? Not to mention question Maxwell’s state of mind. But does the documentary do justice to the many questions about why, instead of the easier to answer How? Not quite.

It’s easy to anticipate that a documentary about abuse will relish the detailed choreography about how that abuse took place. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell isn’t exactly as opportunistic but doesn’t shy away from submissively leaning into that wave. There are vulgar details, awkward instances and sordid stories that make the meat of the documentary. There is not enough to substantiate Maxwell’s psychology or who she was as a person, beyond what she wanted and desired.

A friend of Maxwell, claims in the documentary that she knew who to pay attention to. This is said in the context of her ogling Prince Andrew, or in other words, cosying up to both power and royalty. But what is never explained with depth and conviction is that why exactly would a relatively wealthy woman, a popular socialite, crave the interest of men she could very well survive without. And not just crave attention, but as is evidence, go out of her way to satisfy their demands and urges. It’s a fascinating power dynamic that is at odds with itself , and yet its beguiling source is never quite cleaved the way documentaries can or should. There are enough post-traumatic confessions here, witness accounts that do not say anything out of the ordinary, even a couple who say a lot by choosing to say nothing, but not enough to demystify a pathologically flawed woman. It’s still intriguing, but could have been so much more.

Watch the trailer here:

Watch Who is Ghislaine Maxwell  on Lionsgate Play

The author writes on art and culture, cinema, books, and everything in between. Views expressed are personal.

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