HIGH & LOW – JOHN GALLIANO ★★★★ (M) 116 minutes The ugly side of John Galliano’s character is on full display in the opening moments of Kevin Macdonald’s documentary biopic High & Low . It’s 2011, and he’s in a Parisian cafe directing an antisemitic rant at a couple at the next table, his delivery slurred and his face distorted. John Galliano in his garden in Beauvais, France.
The designer’s public rehabilitation is complete. This notorious encounter cost him his fashion career – at least for a while. It’s since been restored to life, helped along by the powerful influence of Vogue’s Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Talley and Condé Nast.
Were they right to stick by him? It’s a question that crystallises the dilemma that arises when any admired artist indulges in conduct that is widely considered to be repugnant. In other words, it’s a moral tale – or, in this case, an amoral one, since Galliano emerges from Macdonald’s film as being naively tone-deaf to society’s sensitivities. Yet, it’s also clear he inspires great affection in those who have worked with him.
Like so many stories about bad behaviour, this one begins in childhood. In the lengthy interview that underpins the film, Galliano says he knew in adolescence he was homosexual. So did his parents, expressing such disgust that his first instinct was to flee.
Leaving home as early as he could, he enrolled in St Martin’s School of Design, where his talent was confirmed. And from there, i.