It won't be till after the trial, scheduled for this November (2021), that the big feature-film about Ghislaine Maxwell will come out. Meanwhile we settle for this lite version, with only tentative suggestions of what crimes she may have committed.
Like myself, you may not have made the connection between the shock of her father's death and the arrival in her life of the equally wealthy and unscrupulous Jeffrey Epstein. Ghislaine had grown up in the lavish surroundings of her father's mansion, living the billionaire life of society events, private jets and holiday homes - while also attending Oxford University (Balliol), and being always noted for her sophistication. Significantly, it was not long after this bereavement that she met Epstein, a Brooklyn boy made good, genuinely brilliant in the banking business, but utterly unprincipled, as events would show.
What he wanted was money and women, and there is no doubt that he got what he wanted. So much so, that he bought an island reserved for his off-duty hours, while his other properties could almost have been islands too, so carefully did he protect his privacy - perhaps a little more than would be normal.
We can soon see why. Epstein was not only indulging himself with some distinctly under-age girls. He was trafficking them to the high and the mighty, from whom he might later expect favours. And to recruit constant new flesh, he needed a reassuringly wholesome-looking woman to groom the unsuspecting victims. For this, Ghislaine fitted the bill perfectly.
Two very different victims are interviewed. Annie, a normal girl-next-door, who had probably been living a conventional life up till then. And Chantae, with a face full of botched plastic, obviously programmed for the car-crash life. And here we learn that Ghislaine often liked to 'join in' whatever games were in progress.
Only a fleeting image of Prince Andrew has been allowed. And the film ends with Ghislaine described as 'the keeper of many secrets'. Until November, that is.
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