‘Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell’ Review: Docu-Series On London-Based Convicted Sex-Offender Left Many Questions Unanswered
I am not the kind of person who watches documentaries and docu-series. There’s no particular reason except that this genre of cinema never piqued my interest. That was before I came across the newly-released docu-series titled Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? When I first read the name of the series, I, too, wasn’t aware of her but Twitter was abuzz and people had tweeted a lot about her, and this caught my eye. Of course, I decided to watch the series and to be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. Without further delay, here’s what Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell is all about and why you should watch it.
The Plot
This docu-series is about Ghislaine Maxwell, the UK-based socialite who got her name embroiled in a sex trafficking controversy and was also convicted for the same. The series is divided into three episodes with each one shedding light on the different phases of Ghislaine’s life and how she came about doing what she did. From childhood to adulthood, her relationships, and her rich social circle to her bratty behaviour, the series covers it all! Also, I would like to take a moment to clarify her name is pronounced as “Ghilaine” because the ‘s’ is silent here.
Ghislaine was the youngest daughter of UK’s media magnate Robert Maxwell, who was rich enough to buy the British Printing Corporation, Mirror Group Newspapers and Macmillan Publishers, among other publishing houses. Naturally, being the youngest, she was closest to Robert and was immensely spoiled by him as well. He would never say no to her which led to all wishes being fulfilled.
She would always be found with her father wherever she went. Ghislaine is said to have been a charismatic person who would light up the room with her mere presence. She also had this innate ability to make a person feel special by giving them attention and making them feel important. Hence, by being by her father’s side, she got introduced to UK’s most powerful’s who’s who. Ghislaine Maxwell attended parties that saw the likes of Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, Roger Waters, and many others in attendance.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
She studied at Oxford and was deemed a bright student by her professors. Maybe it was the air of being a socialite that got to her head or maybe it was the fame and money but I feel it was the mixture of all of this that led to her downfall. It was quite evident that Ghislaine enjoyed being in the spotlight but one day, all hell broke loose when a girl with her stepmother came to report that she was sexually abused by Ghislaine. This wasn’t it. She also reported that Maxwell was running a chain where she recruited young girls to be abused by her husband Jeffrey Epstein who was a big-shot financer in America. She married Jeffery after her father passed away and she could not live without the luxuries she had been living with until then.
View this post on Instagram
A couple of other women also came forward with the same accusations against Ghislaine but it was her husband who was arrested first. Jeffery Epstein was sent to prison where, after some time, he died by suicide. So, now, it was Ghislaine who the cops were after. Her trial was called the ‘trial of the century!’. The victims claimed that they were taken to the private island on Palm Beach, which was owned by Jeffery, via ferry and he would abuse them there. The survivors have shared a detailed account of how they were lured by Ghislaine to be taken to Jeffery and it is quite shocking.
She also would lure underage girls to be abused by her husband and ask them to keep quiet and allow Jeffer to do what he wanted with them. Ghislaine kept on denying the charges levied against her and she was finally arrested in July 2020. She also applied for bail but was denied because she had become an expert at hiding. Her trial began and she was found guilty on five counts. In June 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her crimes.
My Verdict
I was left confused after I finished watching the series. The series did shed light on Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes but there was something very off about the narrative. If you watch the series, you will start to feel that there is something amiss in the whole thing.
There were many plotholes in the series. The caretakers of the island where the victims were brought claimed on camera that they never thought such things were happening in the house when, in fact, they were the ones inside the house all the time. They did admit to seeing the island and house being full of girls all the time.
Another important thing that the Twitter users made me think about was the client list Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked girls for. It is said that she would recruit girls not just for her husband but other famous people as well. So, my question here is where is that list? It is quite surprising that the cops couldn’t find the elite guest list, Ghislaine would recruit girls for. That would be a huge scandal, wouldn’t it? It feels like Ghislaine was protecting all the big names that were possibly involved in this.
Apart from these, the series was very interesting and showed the glamourous world of 90s London and New York.
Also read: ‘Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt. Ltd.’ Review: Amruta Subhash Is Amazing In This Realistic Ode To Female Relationships
The docu-series left many questions unanswered and I felt that this cannot be the whole thing about the case. I intend to do more research on this case and try and find facts that make more sense and help me understand this whole mess better.
9 Bingeworthy True Crime Documentaries To Feed Your Curiosity About Dark, Twisted Criminal Minds
