If you’re looking to start the year off with a provocative and thought-provoking documentary, I suggest watching Untouchable, a film that examines the divisive topic of sex offender laws and the people they affect.
Director David Feige’s 2016 Tribeca-winning doc is centered around one father’s uncompromising quest for justice for his daughter and his mission to keep her abuser- the family’s former nanny- behind bars and stigmatized for life. But that begs the question- is redemption for sex offenders possible?
The harshest laws in the nation
Sexual abuse doesn’t discriminate against race, religion, or status- just ask Ron Book, the most powerful political lobbyist in Florida. When he discovered that his daughter, Lauren, had been the victim of horrific sexual abuse, which took place for years under his own roof by someone he knew and trusted. As a result, Ron was determined to make a change. His legislation, which passed and is currently the strictest in the nation, sent sex offenders into exile. With its enforcement, those convicted must live within certain boundaries, away from public gathering spots where children frequent like schools and parks, many of the accused have succumbed to homelessness. They live under bridges, without tents, because legally, per Book’s law, that is the only place they can live. And while over 800,000 people have been affected by these new sex offender laws, this doesn’t take in to account the number of people associated with the convicted offender whose life is also uprooted and forever changed.
An indefinite stigmatization
Ron Book shows no sympathy for the people convicted of these crimes, but that is understandable. As a bilateral victim, he is justified in his feelings of hatred. However, there are people on the other side of the issue who feel that sex offenders are the only subcategory of people who “cannot” re-build their lives, they are forever stigmatized as criminals. Murderers, drug addicts and more are encouraged to turn their lives around with the promise of a “fresh start” and “new slate”, but the same doesn’t apply to sex offenders. Feige interviews some of the people who feel as if they have been stigmatized indefinitely.
Is redemption possible? Louis CK doesn’t help the argument for “Yes”
Untouchable is uncomfortable, as is its intention, although David Feige and team likely didn’t purposefully include a clip from comedian Louis CK’s controversial monologue about child molestation and how “it must be good if people are willing to ruin their lives for this act” just to be controversial. Given the hot water Louis CK finds himself in currently over his own sexual abuse accusations, this “joke” feels too creepy and ill-timed to prove any sort of point for the accused. By the film’s end and after a thorough job examining both sides of the issue, Untouchable will force the viewer to debate this hot button topic and leave us with this loaded question: should there be redemption for sex offenders?
‘Untouchable’ is not rated. 105 minutes. Available on VOD today.
