Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022)

Movie Info

Wherever she intended it to end, this is where it landed

The death of Jeffrey Epstein thrusts the light on his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.  Maxwell was born into the extremely wealthy and was pointed to as Jeffrey’s right-hand “man”.  As victims come forward claiming that Maxwell helped groom them for Epstein and his associates, Epstein faces herself on trial for crimes against other women…and the victims will get their day in court.

Directed by Maiken Baird and Lisa Bryant, Ghislaine Maxwell:  Filthy Rich is a Netflix documentary film.  Following the documentary series Jeffrey Epstein:  Filthy Rich in 2020, the documentary was released on Netflix on November 25, 2002.

Jeffrey Epstein made sense.  He was a rich, entitled guy who abused his power to rape young women and groom women to do his orders…Ghislaine Maxwell was a mystery in that sense.  She didn’t get anything out of helping Jeffrey Epstein on the surface, but Ghislaine Maxwell:  Filthy Rich shows how she ended up as part of Epstein’s circle of rape and seduction while still giving a voice to the victims.

The survivors find their voices

It is often stated that females who help and cover up rape and assaults are worse than the assaulters since they potentially know what it feels like to lose that sense of security that is taken when a person is raped.  Ghislaine Maxwell falls into that category.  She facilitated rape and from all accounts looked down on the people she helped Epstein seduce and share with other high profile associates.  The documentary looks into the reasons behind Ghislaine’s actions.

Ghislaine is presented as someone with a pretty fractured background, but the documentary also doesn’t provide any apologizes for her (which is good).  Ghislaine is presented as someone who knows right from wrong and chooses to do “wrong”.  She came from a background with women being subservient and that all that women can provide is a pretty face and sex…but she ran with it, and when she found her fortunes struggling after her father’s death, she latched on to Epstein who used her…but it seems like she chose to be used.

Time to face the jury

The documentary is pretty standard fare and fortunately does allow some of Epstein’s victims to talk.  The sensitivity of the situation limits the victims willing to come forward, but the documentary does a decent job establishing a pattern through those who would speak…and in the pattern, Ghislaine’s role as a groomer feels obvious.

Ghislaine Maxwell:  Filthy Rich is a nice addendum to the Epstein saga.  While accusing her of being worse than Epstein is easy, I don’t know if it is true…she might be a bit of a victim herself (but more in the sense she grew up entitled and didn’t know how to survive without it).  The crime against humanity is a sometimes worse than simply killing someone…killing is often more about passion or a break in reality.  Ghislaine Maxwell chose her path no matter how slowly it happened…and now she’ll pay for it.

Related Links:

Jeffrey Epstein:  Filthy Rich (2020) Review and Complete Episode Guide