Roman Polanski and the Benefit of Clergy

This was originally posted at minervana . In the ensuing month nothing has really changed; Polanski is still in jail, and Geimer (the victim) is still in hiding.

There are two competing narratives about Roman Polanski and his subsequent arrest. In one, a genius committed a crime long time ago, which his victim has since recovered from. In the other, a wealthy and powerful man violated an innocent child, then absconded from justice when it looked like he might have to face the music.

What does one narrative have to do with the other?

What Polanski’s supporters are asking for is a sort of "benefit of clergy," as described by George Orwell in his excellent essay on Salvador Dali. The phrase is eerily apt in the wake of the scandals plaguing the Catholic church. Like a wayward priest, Polanski took advantage of a minor via his power and prestige.

Imagine if a black or Latino man, in south central Los Angeles, drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, pled guilty, then fled to South America after he’d been convicted. Would there be any controversy if he was arrested and extradited, even if the victim had long ago moved on? I doubt it.

There are a few more arguments. Roman Polanski led a tragic life. He is 76, which apparently makes him too old to stand trial; never mind that an 89-year-old war criminal is on trial in Berlin, for crimes that took place over sixty years ago. Polanski’s arrest is insinuated to be "politically motivated," with the Swiss eager to get back in American good graces after the crisis. The most compelling argument is that convicting the director will do nobody any good, least of all victim Samantha Geimer. "Honestly, the publicity surrounding it was so traumatic that what he did to me seemed to pale in comparison," Geimer wrote in an op-ed on Roman Polanski’s oscar nomination . (At this time, Geimer has gone into hiding). Would a protracted extradition process help Geimer or her family? No.

Both narratives – the genius and the golem – are true in a sense.Whatever you think of Roman Polanski’s movies, he drugged and raped a 13 year-old girl. We can simultaneously hold that Polanski (to quote Orwell) is a "good [director] and a disgusting human being. The one does not invalidate or, in a sense, affect the other." One can watch The Pianist and admire it, decry the director as a scoundrel at the same time. This level of dissociation may not be possible for everyone, and I would blame no one if they can’t get over his past. (Could a Holocaust survivor really admire Leni Riefenstahl, however good her later films were?) But to claim that anyone, however talented, therefore has a license to violate a child, is inexcusable.