Parents' Guide to Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich

Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich is, thankfully, not a documentary that seeks to entertain audiences with Maxwell's crimes by telling them in a tawdry, tabloid-esque manner. Instead, the documentary takes a necessarily serious approach to Maxwell, her life in high society, and the conditions that could have led her to become someone who would create a sex trafficking ring for the rich and famous, namely Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew. The film's conceit of time-jumping to tell its story is sometimes not needed and can make the story feel more jumbled than it needs to. Also, some scenes between real-life subjects of the documentary feel oddly scripted, or at least rehearsed, when they don't have to be to get the point across.

However, the overall sum of Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich is a quick, but pithy overview of how the privileged have been able to insulate themselves from facing punishment for their crimes until recently. Also, without giving Maxwell excuses for her behavior, the documentary relays how the hurt and abused can become abusers themselves.