While we’ve welcomed an influx of Regency era dramas and wealth-driven reality TV, this year has also revisited the way that ’90s icons were poorly mistreated by the public and the media, à la Framing Britney Spears.
This time, the documentary is not after redemption for a famous face, but rather a conviction.
HBO’s new four-part docuseries, Allen v. Farrow, is taking the world by storm and shining a spotlight on a sadly well-known story that has continuously evolved since 1992.
Exploring abuse allegations against Woody Allen, by Mia Farrow and their daughter Dylan, the four-part series dives into their retelling of the alleged sexual abuse seven-year-old Dylan suffered at the hands of her adoptive father. As many already know, Allen has denied these claims since they first emerged in 1992, but it hasn’t left him short of a stream of investigations and media interviews that pursue the topic.
Obtaining never-before-seen home video footage—and an unseen tape of Mia Farrow filming her daughter addressing the alleged abuse she experienced in the attic of their Connecticut home—the documentary plans to lift the lid on what really went on with the famous family.
Intrigued? Keep reading for everything you need to know about the docu-series—from the plot and Woody Allen’s response to where you can watch it in Australia.
What Is The Plot Of Allen v. Farrow?
Allen v. Farrow features interviews with Dylan, her mother Mia Farrow, a number of her other 13 children and family friends who claim Allen was an abuser and responsible for allegedly grooming Dylan from a young age.
Made by filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, the multi-part HBO documentary reclaims Mia and Dylan’s voices and stories. Depicted using intimate home videos and testimonies from family, friends and household employees, Allen v. Farrow also shines a spotlight into the complex, widely known—and extensively hushed—Allen/Farrow story.
A major player in New York’s famous circles, Allen’s work earned him celebrity status thanks to his films Manhattan and Annie Hall, leaving him seemingly untouchable when the allegations first arose in 1992. The series also provides background on his uncomfortable fascination with teenage girls, including interviews with a model who he had a sexual relationship with—while she was only 16-years-old—and how she inspired Mariel Hemingway’s role in Manhattan.
Speaking to babysitters and friends of the family who noticed Allen’s persistent attention to Dylan, the audience will hear about a time when a child psychiatrist in the building where the Farrows lived, informed Mia that they were concerned about Allen’s “inappropriate” interactions with her daughter.
All in all, Allen v Farrow covers Mia and Allen’s unconventional relationship and family, the birth of Satchel (who now goes by Ronan) and Mia’s adoption of their daughter Dylan and Moses Farrow in the 1980s.
Intrigued? Check out the trailer for Allen v. Farrow below.
WATCH BELOW: Allen v. Farrow Trailer
Has Woody Allen Responded To Allen v. Farrow?
Unsurprising to many, Allen has always denied the abuse allegations made against him, and of course, this time is no different.
The filmmaker and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn—who is also Farrow’s adopted daughter—are pushing back against the documentary, characterising them as “categorically false” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on February 21.
In a joint statement released exclusively to the publication, Allen and Previn came forward to claim that the creators of Allen v. Farrow “spent years surreptitiously collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers to put together a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods.” They also claim the filmmakers approached them “less than two months ago” and allegedly “only gave them a matter of days ‘to respond,’” which they declined to do at the time.
Their statement also takes a hit at Allen’s estranged son, journalist Ronan Farrow, who has a deal with HBO claiming that it is “unsurprising” that the network choose to air “this shoddy hit piece.”
Has Dylan Farrow Responded To Allen v. Farrow?
Dylan Farrow, for her part, addressed the video of herself as a child which has previously never been seen by the public. Sharing a statement to Twitter, she explained that she was writing because she’d been “losing sleep and overcome with anxiety.”
“Tonight’s episode of the Allen v. Farrow docuseries features a video of me as a seven-year-old child disclosing my abuse to my mother. My mother gave me this video when I became an adult to do whatever I wanted with it. It shows me as I was then, a young, vulnerable child. ‘Little Dylan,’ whom I’ve tried ever since to protect.”
She went on to explain that she had, “for decades, pushed ‘Little Dylan’ away as a coping mechanism. So part of my goal in allowing her to now speak is also to try and find some healing for me and my childhood self. It’s an attempt to make them whole again, and find some peace and closure.”
“If you watch this video, I very much hope you will do so with empathy, compassion, and an open mind and heart and not use this as an opportunity to attack, turn away, criticize, mock or to future shun ‘Little Dylan’ and in doing so shame and silence the millions of abused children who are suffering in the world today. This is the most vulnerable part of who I am.”
Farrow’s full statement below:
Where Can We Watch Allen V. Farrow In Australia?
Interested? The last three parts of Allen v. Farrow airs on Mondays on Fox Showcase and Foxtel on Demand.
Sign up to the streaming service to be the first to watch, and catch up on series like Big Little Lies and Sex And The City.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
