Roman Polanski - Seperating the man from the director.

I'm a big fan of Roman Polanski. From Rosemary's Baby to The Pianist I think that he has made some of the best films of all time, and is an exemplary filmmaker. There's a lot of controversy after his arrest in Zurich a few days ago, many well known and well respected people in the film industry such as David Lynch and Martin Scorsese have signed a petition for his release, and many of them have come under fire on internet message boards for supporting him. There's no getting around it, he admittedly drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, something I absolutely do not condone for one second, then fled to France to avoid jail. I don't believe that anyone is above the law, and I think that yes, he should be punished. Yet I remain a fan of him as a director, an admirer of his work, and I've enjoyed his films immensely.

For many, I think that's quite an issue. How can someone neither condone the crime, nor condemn the art? Some have said that buying a film of his on DVD is supporting him (well shoot me, I just picked up The Fearless Vampire Hunters), a lot of people boycott his films because of what he did, and some feel that you cannot support his work as a filmmaker if you admonish him for his crimes. Yet most of the time, people do separate a person from their actions in the world of film and appreciate them for their work. Despite outbursts from Russell Crowe or Christian Bale, most admit they are great actors. Robert Downey Jr. has had an extremely destructive career, but he is a remarkable actor. Admittedly though, that's not a direct comparison with what Polanski did.

I'm reminded somewhat of Jeffrey Jones. He's an actor I'm sure most people are familiar with, I had been a fan of his since I was a kid, but in 2002 he was arrested on child pornography charges and getting a 14 year old boy to pose for pictures. I was shocked, I remember watching Deadwood and initially I couldn't get the thought out of my head every time Jones was onscreen 'This man is a pedophile'. But after some time I put it out of my mind. He was still the same actor that I always enjoyed watching. The fact that Matthew Broderick killed two people in a car crash had never impeded my enjoyment of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, so why should Jeffrey Jones's crime?

I feel the same way about Roman Polanski. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love his films, or that I wasn't a big fan of him as a director. Since I've been aware of him, I've known about what he did, and still continued (and will continue) to enjoy his work ever since I first saw Rosemary's Baby all those years ago. I respect the opinions of Martin Scorsese and all those who support Polanski, and I respect the opinions of the people who boycott his films because of his crimes, but I can't respect the idea that someone who simply enjoys Polanski's films is in some way reprehensible for it. I feel that I'll always have a great admiration for him as a filmmaker.