High & Low - John Galliano
- Director: Kevin Macdonald
- Producer: Sarah Amos, Agnes Chu, Helen Estabrook, Mikael Govciyan, Mark Guiducci, Alice Kaminski, Kirsty Lane, Kevin Macdonald, Chloe Mamelok, Nathalie Toulza Madar
CGiii Comment
What hasn't been said about John Galliano that hasn't been said before? Absolutely nothing!
So, when that's the case, let the man speak for himself...and, John just loves talking about himself - abridgedly so. Kevin Macdonald doesn't make it easy, he starts [and ends] the film with the now infamous toxic vitriol that Galliano spewed at fellow customers one drunken and drugged fuelled night back in 2010.
Being cancelled and prosecuted - the heady days of Galliano's career had come to an abrupt end - but, as well-connected as he is, his cronies rallied around and his cancellation didn't last too long.
The film is, basically, atonement without apology - Galliano's 'defence' is a mixture of exhaustion, alcohol, 'prescription' drugs...and, amnesia. In other words, his addictions were a disease and the disease made him do what he did.
Helloo...but, addiction has no ground for defence. He refuses to be held to account, he shrugs off responsibility for his actions - he was the creative director for Dior for godsakes! Had this not been caught on camera, who knows...would he have continued staggering down the same racist and antisemitic boulevard?
Kevin Macdonald should have pushed him further. John Galliano should have thanked his victims for [indirectly] getting him the treatment he so desperately needed. Alas, there were no thank-yous forthcoming...nor, an apology.
A most divisive man.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald (Whitney, One Day in September) turns his camera towards the life and career of Galliano, the gifted fashion designer and head of Dior who caused outrage following a drunken, anti-Semitic tirade in 2011. Featuring the man himself, alongside figures from the fashion world, the film deftly investigates Galliano’s childhood, celebrated work, mental health and addiction struggles, and his long road to redemption.
Laure Bonville
Cast & Characters
John Galliano (as Self)