Slash Film Review: A Horrifying Look at How Money Can Buy Almost Anything

Next Wed. https://www.slashfilm.com/jeffrey-epstein-filthy-rich-review/

A docuseries about the story of Jeffrey Epstein is bound to be a hard watch, and Filthy Rich is often a dispiriting, even soul-crushing experience. Again and again, Epstein is able to do whatever he wants. And just when things seem like they’re finally going to catch up with the billionaire pedophile – like when Florida law enforcement finally had enough to arrest Epstein, only for Alex Acosta, then the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, to cut a shocking sweetheart deal with the billionaire. Under the deal, Epstein was sentenced to only a few months in a correctional facility. Once inside, he was able to use his wealth to buy himself a private cell. And more than that, he was able to get onto a work-release program that allowed him to leave prison, six days a week, for 12 hours.

Epstein’s story is disturbing, horrifying, and also fascinating. As hard as Filthy Rich tries to find clarity in all of this, the more murky things become. It doesn’t help matters that Epstein was found dead in jail in 2019 – a death that was either suicide or murder, depending on who you ask. For its part, Filthy Rich presents compelling explanations both ways – there’s plenty to support suicide, just as there’s plenty to support the murder theory. But there are no definitive answers. And there’s no justice.