Ankita Shukla
So, how correct is it to try someone for a supposed crime that was done decades ago? Well, the argument has no end, for some say that a crime if taken lightly and not reacted upon can have negative moral evaluations, but then what if the person has never looked back to his shady past again after the day it occurred and has only gone to excel and make gold out of whatever he`s ever touched? Questions will remain questions for the answers seem unrealistically far away for the ‘Prince of Dark Cinema of Hollywood’- Roman Polanski.
Severity of the Crime
Well, this wasn`t a murder done in a frenzy caused when a man was out of his senses, but a crime worse than worst done by a man who knew what he was doing and was in control of the situation. Polanski in one of his weak moments raped 13-year old Samantha Geimer at actor Jack Nicholson’s abode. Calling a rape as ‘unlawful sex’ doesn’t make it sound less grave, does it? How disgusting would it be coming from a man who fathered a daughter later on? Could he have empathised with the little girl for once? No, going by the due course of things it doesn’t seem like that.
The Victim’s Testimony
What happened in 1977 can still drop a chill down the spines of those who would try to relive what Samantha went through then. Her testimony, that came two weeks after the callous act, shook all the newspaper stands of America. Whether it was the details of how Polanski asked her to go topless (claiming the shots to be for Vogue), to telling her “Take off your underwear and enter the Jacuzzi”, all seemed unbelievable coming from a young girl that too for a man known and revered for his art.
There were many more livid details that came out like skeletons of the past, some of them being- how the director, who was 43 then, joined her in the hot tub afterwards, wrapped his hands around the child`s waist. And how Polanski sat down beside her and kissed the teen as they moved into the bedroom, despite her demands that he "keep away". According to Geimer, Polanski then performed a sex act on her and later "started to have intercourse”. Geimer`s testimony also included stuff like Polanski asking her if she was "on the pill," and "When did you last have your period?" "Would you want me to go in through your back?" All that Geimer could say when the judge asked her as to why she didn’t resist Polanksi was- “Because I was afraid of him.”
The above details can only make one imagine the inability of a 13-year old in front of a man elder to her by 30 years with much more power and might physically and mentally.
Roman- A Pervert?
We can only try to do a psychoanalysis of Roman, but to actually scrutinise what led to such a behaviour remains a question. His character is depicted in many of his movies to quite an extent. Most of his flicks ranging from- ‘The Tenant’ (the apartment trilogy) to ‘Pirates’ and Frantic have quite incidentally explored the themes of social estrangement and emotional breakdown. Most of the filmmakers are known to derive from their lives what they showcase in their art, though this claim can’t be generalised yet perhaps we can take a cue or two from his dark and dingy works and correlate them with a rather unscrupulous life that this man has led.
As a layman, anyone would call a 43-year old man, who has raped a 13 year old girl- ‘a pervert’ and no doubts about that. Logically speaking, a man who was riding high on his success, had everything going for him would not rape a young girl for sex, but for everything else. Perhaps, this was his way of fulfilling his abnormal carnal desires and instincts, but in this process of fulfilment he forgot the repercussions and was too predominated by the pleasures of the same.
The Prosecution
Though happily married now, Samantha has moved on for the better. She now wants the charges against Polanksi to be dropped (much to everyone’s surprise) for she wants her agony to meet an end and obviously does not want anymore embarrassment for her family. She’s gone to the extent of saying, "I`m sure if he could go back, he wouldn`t do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he`s paid for it. I think he`s sorry, I think he knows it was wrong. I don`t think he`s a danger to society. I don`t think he needs to be locked up forever as no one has ever come out ever — besides me — and accused him of anything. It was 30 years ago now. It`s an unpleasant memory ... (but) I can live with it.”
But alas, Samantha forgotten that what happened to her and started with her had a bigger connotation as it is nothing but the question of being ‘right or wrong’ that we are dealing with here.
The Defence
Polanski, who was initially charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor, had these charges dismissed under the terms of his plea bargain as he pleaded guilty to the lesser (by what means?) charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. But as soon as he realised that he was getting deeper into the mess created by him, Polanski moved out of America on the pretext of the denial of a fair trial in the country to be only caught on 26th September 2009 by the Swiss authorities.
I wonder which country’s judiciary would give a rapist a fair trial when he has everything going against him except for the fact that he has all the money to have dual citizenships (French and Polish in this case) to continue having a lavish lifestyle anywhere but in America.
Justice Denied is Justice Delayed?
Polanski’s recent arrest in Zurich, where he had gone to attend the ‘Zurich Film Festival’ and collect his Lifetime Achievement Award has created an uproar of sorts, the reason being the fact that a lot of people think that though Polanski’s act was a crime yet there is no point nabbing a rather ‘old man’ for he’s already paid for his crime by being constantly on the move and not having had a chance to settle down to a comfortable life.
The second school of thought varies completely and goes like this- it suggests that ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’ but whatever little can be done to pacify the victim and to make her meet justice shall be done irrespective of what it takes to attain justice.
The only glitch here is the fact that such a tedious and a non resultant case has got the victim to accept what happened with her and quite dramatically led her to call the accused a circumstantial victim too!
Polanski’s Future
As for now Polanski’s future is in lurch. The United States will have to make a formal extradition request within 40 days of his arrest to have Polanski extradited and stand trial. Polanski, in the meanwhile has announced that he intends to appeal extradition and has hired a lawyer to represent him.
The Last Word
The way a man is known by his work, the same way he is also known by the deeds he’s done hence. One can just appreciate Polanksi’s classic cinema (perhaps with disgust for the gore and the filmmaker) and let the law takes its course.
