When Is a ‘Problematic Fave’ Actually a Monster?

In 2014, the writer Claire Dederer was researching one of her favorite filmmakers, Roman Polanski, for her memoir Love and Trouble. That spring and summer, as she rewatched Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby, and Repulsion, she was overwhelmed by both his genius as an artist and his monstrousness as a person. In 1977, Polanski was notoriously accused of drugging and … [Read more…]