Tuesday, May 7, 2019

LEAVING NEVERLAND - 2019 (HBO TV - 2-part Documentary)


Director:     Dan Reed
Cast:          Wade Robson, Jimmy Safechuck, Michael Jackson Footage

This documentary focuses on two men who now admit during a filmed interview that Michael Jackson sexually abused them. 

What makes this film so powerful and credible is that it doesn’t focus on Michael, the pedophile.  It focuses instead on the experiences of two men who survived the abuse and who, to this day, are recovering from the trauma of their experiences.

Kudos to director Dan Reed who uncovers the truths in this film with respect and dignity.  It makes clear that at the time the two boys were actively involved with the superstar, what they felt for him was overwhelming love and loyalty.

Michael’s charisma was so powerful even the boys’ families fell under his spell.  Watching the footage of Michael’s interaction with them, we see proof of his generosity and kindness.  We hear Michael’s voice ending his conversations with, “I love you.” 

Today, it’s hard to imagine why a mother would allow her young son to share a bedroom with Michael Jackson.  It becomes a little more believable when we see how Michael so sincerely cares about them.

As Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck, now fathers of young sons themselves, honestly share their experiences with us, we see their pain, vulnerability and bewilderment.  They KNOW Michael’s love for them was genuine, but the confusion and trauma of being loved, then rejected and discarded… that too is real.

As fathers whose sons are now the same age they were during their time with Michael, they see the vulnerability and innocence of young boys. They understand the ultimate cruelty of planting seeds in a garden made of Michael’s type of inappropriate “love.”  They know now that seeds thrown into that type of garden create plants which are psychologically and emotionally malformed. 

This is a difficult film to watch.  Nevertheless, its hard-core truths present an important aspect of reality which all parents should understand for themselves. 


TAGS:  Michael Jackson, Wade Robson, James Safechuck, Dan Reed, Neverland