The rise and fall of disgraced fashion designer John Galliano is the intriguing focus of Oscar winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (Whitney, Marley). With access to the great and good of the fashion world, we see the Gibraltar-born designer ascend to the heights of the industry thanks to his unique vision, only to be exiled after antisemitic outbursts in the early 2010s.
There’s a lot of insight into the stress and addiction that drove workaholic Galliano to a dark place. Models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell talk about his talents, while industry moguls like Anna Wintour reflect on his path to professional oblivion. It’s all suitably dramatic, with the human drama played out to footage of catwalks and parties. There’s a degree of sympathy to be had for his collaborators, who struggle to connect the brilliance with the bigotry. As with many films about public disgrace, there are interviewees who walk the line between condemning his actions while still protecting their legacy.
Like a nasty hangover, you are left with a bad taste in the mouth after hearing from the man himself.
Speaking to Macdonald, the designer seems chastened by what happened, but always just short of repentant. There is a lot of discussion about how he has atoned for what he did, but there is an unnerving strain of self-pity to his account of events. He seems sorry that he was caught rather than sorry he did it.
Does that make this a bad film? Absolutely not, and it’s to Macdonald’s credit that High and Low never feels like a puff piece designed to rehabilitate the designer’s career. However, as an examination of wrongdoing, the documentary leaves you with the uncomfortable notion that lessons haven’t been learned. You won’t come away from High and Low liking Galliano as a person. Instead, Macdonald ensures there is enough here to understand why this fall from grace matters, and invites you to come to your own conclusions.
High and Low: John Galliano is in cinemas from 8 March.
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