TV Review - Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich

On the same day that this documentary series or docu-series was released, a similar documentary was also released. HBO Max's On the Record was dropped on the same day. That HBO Max film was about rape and sexual assault in the music industry, specifically accusations against a wealthy and powerful, music executive named Russell Simmons. This series is about rape and sexual assault among those who earned their fortunes on Wall Street, specifically accusations against Jeffrey Edward Epstein, a money manager and financial advisor who was worth over a half-billion and probably commanded a fortune that probably reached beyond a billion dollars.

I compared On the Record with Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly in the structure of it and the fact that it is about a group of women who sit down and are interviewed about the sexual abuse and assaults they endured. Simmons and Kelly were both allegedly predators, but their modus operandi weren't allegedly the same. Kelly allegedly had a modus operandi that was way more insidious and resulted in a larger scale or wider-reaching level of abuse, a network of abuse as it were. However, if there's anyone who's more comparable to Kelly, it isn't Simmons or at least it's more Epstein. Epstein really had a network of abuse occurring that was expansively large. Epstein also more compares to Kelly because his abuse included minors or underage girls. Simmons allegedly did horrible things to women, but he couldn't be called a pedophile. Kelly and Epstein are two that could be slapped with that charge.

Directed by Lisa Bryant, this series does a lot of jumping around in the timeline. Her series is anchored with the testimonies of several women who were the alleged victims of Epstein. There is a progression of events in the subsequent investigation against Epstein that is linear. However, there is a lot of nonlinear storytelling occurring in this series. It's not that difficult to follow though. We understand how he did what he did and how he got away with his crimes, despite police institutions and law enforcement officials being onto him.

Epstein had homes and properties all over the country and world, but there are three major locations where his crimes occurred. The first is New York City. The second is Palm Beach, Florida. The third is Little St. James, an island part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The latter is an island that Epstein owned. Yes, he owned his own island, an island that became known as "pedophile island." His crimes started in his mansion in New York. The investigation against him began in Florida. Yet, the implications to greater political figures and a greater sex scandal took place ironically in the Virgin Islands, and it's a tangled web that is weaved.

If nothing else, this series allows for the women who were victimized to be given a voice to tell their stories and what was done to them. This film is about giving a platform to the survivors, rape survivors. Those survivors include Maria Farmer, Annie Farmer, Michelle Licata, Shawna Rivera, Haley Robson, Virginia Roberts Guiffre and Sarah Ransome. These women were young and vulnerable. We feel their naivete or their fear being intimidated by a wealthy and powerful man, and what the dynamics are that would cause them to be lured.

For a lot of them, they were intimidated into going along with what became a prostitution ring, obfuscated under the rubric of being a massage operation for quick cash. A lot of these girls came from the poor side of town and desperate backgrounds. Listening to them, it's easy to understand why they were intimidated and kept quiet. The fact that they're coming forward now is a high level of bravery. However, there were others who were brave and went to report Epstein to the police immediately. For many, they didn't go to the police until years or decades later. Yet, some went to the police right away.

Other potential pedophiles like R. Kelly and Michael Jackson had very public trials that resulted in them being acquitted. Unfortunately, Epstein didn't have a trial initially. Even though this series documents and interviews the police officers and detectives in Palm Beach who built a large and strong case against him, the prosecutors in Florida didn't have a trial or charge Epstein in a way that the police felt he should. The prosecutor who was responsible was Alexander Acosta who then went on to become the Secretary of Labor under President Donald Trump.

Alan Dershowitz who helped Epstein put together his legal representation argued that Epstein was able to make a plea deal and get away with pedophilia and a prostitution ring with nothing more than a slap on the wrist because the prosecutors like Acosta couldn't make their case. That makes little sense, given the documentation and evidence that the Palm Beach Police gathered. Yet, it's two-fold. If Dershowitz believed the prosecutors had no case, then why not go to trial? It would have been more money for the lawyers and a guarantee that their client wasn't convicted or spend any time in jail. The only reason someone goes for a plea deal is because they think the other side could make their case. This leads many to think that Epstein was able to use his money and influence to escape justice.

That's probably the main message about this series. Money and power can be used to escape justice. It's probably still the case in a lot of ways, but the culture shifted after the Me Too movement started in 2017. That has helped to change and better things.

I also should note that this series debuted just days before another documentary series, that of ID's Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?, which is a more sensationalized look at Epstein's time in prison, leading up to his death. Epstein's gruesome end was ruled a suicide, but some argue that it could be a murder. Obviously, it implies a grander conspiracy that would have allegedly been perpetrated by several high-powered figures, including current and past presidents, as well as a member of the British royal family. It's more tabloid journalism than Bryant's series, which is more focused on the women who were victimized, a better tact to take here.

Rated TV-MA.

Running Time: 1 hr. / 4 eps.

Available on Netflix.