Title – Square One (2019)

Director – Danny Wu (feature debut)

Cast – Danny Wu, Michael Jackson, Akon, Taj Jackson

Plot – A documentary exploration of the 1993 child molestation allegations against pop-superstar Michael Jackson by the Chandler family.

“Leave our family alone”

Review by Eddie on 10/12/2019

Readily available to watch for free on Youtube, debut filmmaker Danny Wu has crafted a significant piece of the Michael Jackson puzzle, as he shines a light on the seemingly ill-intended allegations of abuse that were aimed at the pop superstar, allegations that followed him until the day he died in what was a sad end to a bright and illustrious career.

Square One goes all the way back to 1993 as the first and very public accusations against Jackson were made by the Chandler family, who alleged that Jackson, at his infamous Neverland Ranch, abused their child Jordan in a series of pre-planned and devious attacks.

Wu has assembled a vast array of Jackson acquaintances, reporters, lawyers, experts and every day citizens to take us back to this time and place, helping ensure that we begin to question more recent and high-profile documentaries that would have us believe that the case against Michael was a clear cut one.

Without being able to ever truly know who is in the right and who is in the wrong, Wu paints a picture of the king of pop that begins to showcase an extremely misunderstood man, who at the end of the day was living a bizarre public life of constant scrutiny and pressure that overshadowed his attempts to be a kind and giving adult.

It’s hard to believe just how open and welcoming Jackson was to so many outsiders at the peak of his music life, something that would never happen in today’s social media and paparazzi climate and sadly for Jackson, his family and his legacy, it appears as though his insistence on being a friend to many cost him dearly, as those that saw a way to financially benefit from him begin to strike.

Wu’s film may lack polish and scope but his strong investigation work and even unearthing of previously unseen documents and character testimonies builds for a strong case for Jackson being nothing more than a victim, where many would have us believe his an out and out monster.

Final Say – 

A must-watch for Jackson fans and a great counter against many other Jackson doco’s that sit firmly in the against department, Square One is an engaging and insightful Youtube documentary that suggests Wu is a talent to keep a very close eye on.

3 1/2 two story bedrooms out of 5 

You can watch Square One in its entirety on Youtube. CLICK HERE to view