"Leaving Neverland" the doc about Michael Jackson's sexual accusations

At the end of the projection inside the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah, they are standing ovations, they are all standing, but, while on the screen the images flow, the audience, in shock, struggles not to look away. It is Friday and at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival is the day of Leaving Neverland, the documentary that denounces the alleged abuses suffered by two underage children, now adults, by Michael Jackson. In the 4 hours of the film directed by Dan Reed, the stories of Wade Robson and James Safechuck intertwine telling in detail the sexual violence, from the encounter to advances, to the first physical contacts during the pajamas organized in Neverland Ranch, to accusations of mutual masturbation and Jackson's long speeches on how these were mere demonstrations of affection to be kept secret. Every word uttered by the two men, whether true or not, is a fist of the stomach that the public struggles to endure. David Fear, senior editor and writer of Rolling Stone writes on Twitter:

"At the midpoint of Leaving Neverland, audience seems slightly shellshocked. There are not enough Silkwood showers in the world to get rid of the feeling I have watching this”. 

They do not all think the same way. Many criticize the choice of the director to interview only the two protagonists and their close relatives, bending their words with close-ups, tears and ad hoc music, without worrying about offering a plurality of voices, so that someone prefers to refer to the project with the word mockumentary ie fantasy documentary. The Jackson family, as expected, has issued a statement that emphasizes that Leaving Neverland is

"the kind of tabloid character assassination Michael Jackson endured in life, and now in death. The film takes unconfirmed charges related to things that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as facts."

In fact, it should be remembered that the King of pop was arrested in 2003 with seven counts charged for alleged child harassment, but the trial ended with a complete acquittal of all charges. On that occasion Wade Robson, who now strongly and pathos reiterates the allegations of pedophilia, was one of the witnesses who helped to exonerate Jackson. What the truth is remains difficult to establish, not just for Michael's fans. Surely the documentary presented at the Sundance Film Festival represents a possibility that is difficult to ignore. If you want to know more, watch the trailer of Leaving Neverland, while to watch the whole movie will soon be broadcast in Britain on Channel 4 and in the United States on HBO.