Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn

I went into this documentary not being to familiar with Roy Cohn or the Rosenbergs so this review is from an outsider's (non-US) perspective and not political.

Roy Cohn was certainly an interesting individual in looks, actions and drive. A man who was gay and Jewish in a time when both would have been pilloried. He proudly declared that he has no assets so the IRD can't get them. Early on in his career (age 26) he oversaw the prosecution and eventual death by electrocution of Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg for treason (or rather conspiracy to commit espionage for the USSR) and much is made of them selling or giving the plans to the atomic bomb to the Soviets. He was an advsior to McCarthy, attorney for the mob and rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful, Trump being the main target in this documentary.

It was directed by Ivy Meeropol, a granddaughter of the Rosenbergs which is probably where the issues start. The documentary makes no bones about it's position on Roy Cohn, he is evil and this repeated through out by enemies and so called friends. It alludes to the Rosenbergs being innocent by claiming an unfair trial where lies were used to ensure a guilty verdict. Although no deep dive or proof, just a lot of innuendo and finger pointing. In fact if you listen carefully there is the admission that Julius was guilty to some degree and Ethyl was innocent. This line was not pursued. Unfortunately for the family, both have since been proven guilty through Soviet records and were major suppliers of information.

What is evident is that this documentary's main aim was to discredit Roy Cohn in his private life as well as business life despite his success. Salacious rumors and gossip abounded. His involvement with Studio 54, his toyboys were ever present and his grand living despite having no assets. There was a segment on the bank account of one of his lovers (Peter Fraser) where 100 of 1000s of dollars were deposited from RCs business. What a shame this wasn't explored more instead it was labelled money laundering and mentioned no more. He frequently ignored paying bills and wrote notes to his secretary not to pay accounts.

Interviews with the gay community who 'saw' RC at various gay hotspots and who were only too keen to spill the beans. His friends (none of whom I've ever heard of) regaling stories of his tight fistedness with funny stories of items being delivered then reclaimed after non-payment.

And eventually his death from AIDS which he denied having till the end.

Where this went wrong in my opinion is that it had an agenda. If he was such good friends with the high and powerful where were the interviews? Who is a friend with an evil man? He had a huge attendance to his birthday party but no one was interviewed. He was with Peter Fraser till the end but no interview (assuming he is still alive). I'm sure RC was a man you didn't trifle with and may even have been thoroughly disreputable, even evil but there was no balance in the 'documentary'. You just had to take the narrators word for it. The clips were were tied in with the gay scene of New York from the 70s and much was made of his personal life although very little corroborated, gossip aside. What of his business and how he made money? Why was he liked, what did he do for them or what did he have over them. Trump was trotted out as the 'high and powerful' yet he was also an advisor to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Rupert Murdoch.

There were too many stories that needed deep diving (Rosenbergs, dealings with the Mafia and his hand in NY contracts to name a few) but the only thing that was explored, maybe too deep was his sexuality. A shame really, he looks to be worthy of a better exploration to really find the man who is Roy Cohn.

I gave it a 5, it kept me interested and I will do more research and as salacious as the gossip and 70s gay scene was it kept me watching to the end. A 5 for the voyeur in me.

Well, this is indeed an enlightening documentary given the current state of the USA. Trump has emulated Cohn's playbook. And it's starkly obvious. The amount of corruption in USA politics is nothing new. But it is interesting to see how people can so easily manipulate it using money, power and influence. Cohn was an awful human being. And the people trying to say this documentary is biased or slanted, are the same people who will excuse felons in the White House. This documentary showed how easily people are manipulated. People love proximity to power and to see people openly admit they were friends with Cohn because it benefited them, is just an echo of history we see today. Unless corruption affects them, they don't care. Fascinating.

In its attempt to show Cohn from various angles, I felt this film treated Cohn with kid gloves and danced around the edges. While the filmmaker is a granddaughter of the Rosenbergs, whom Cohn had put to death, it seems she worked out of need to humanize the madman. It's a commendable, especially given the circumstances, however I really wanted this film to slice him to ribbons. I don't fault her. The film was good and I learned a couple new things I hadn't before (duPont fracass, for one), it just ended before I was sated. I had a different set of expectations going in.

This 2020 documentary is a terrific look at this very hated, yet very successful high society lawyer. Cohn got his teeth cut on the Ethel and Julius Rosenberg treason trial and as Counsel to the infamous Joseph McCarthy. Cohn went on to private practice representing such figures as Donald Trump, Fat Tony Salerno, The Gambinos, and the owners of Studio 54. The film is centered around the Rosenberg sham and talks about how this was the basis for the character created to be Roy Cohn, a guy who was well connected but almost universally thought of as a "evil" person. There is great footage, interviews, news clips, and more. A good documentary.

"Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" (2020 release; 98 min.) is a new documentary about the life and times of Roy Cohn, albeit with a different twist. As the movie opens, we see a young girl talk about pictures of her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in the 1950s for selling the atom bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. That little girl is of course Ivy Meeropol, the writer-producer-director of this documentary. It's not long before we understand that Roy Cohn, then a young District Attorney, was pivotal in ensuring the death penalty for the Rosenbergs. Meeropol uses this historical fact as a stepping stone to look at Roy Cohn's life and times. "To call him evil, it's true, but it doesn't explain everything", comments someone early in the movie.

Couple of comments: this new documentary is a labor of love by longtime documentarian Ivy Meeropol. You may recall that just last year there was another documentary about the life and times of Roy Cohn called "Where's My Roy Cohn?" which was worth seeking out. So how does this new documentary set itself apart? Several factors: first and foremost, there is of course the deeply personal connection between Ivy Meeropol and the fact that Cohn basically sent her grandparents to their death. The movie examines what exactly happened in those dark days of the early 50s (including extensive interview clips with her dad/the Rosenberg's son) and how Cohn used it as a stepping stone in his career. Second, while it is alluded to in "Where's My Cohn?", this documentary goes into far greater detail about Cohn's split personality (the public "Mr. Fix-It"/Republican Party figure vs. the private Jewish gay man). Third, this documentary spends more time on Cohn's mentoring of the then-young Donald Trump, who has never forgotten Cohn's first and foremost advice to never, ever, ever admit to anything and instead deny, deny, deny, and attack, attack, attack. Yes, the pupil of Roy Cohn is now in the White House. That is how far this country has sunk... Bottom line: while both "Bully. Coward. Victim." and "Where's My Cohn?" are worthwhile, "Bully. Victim, Coward." is the better of the two by a nose, as its deeply personal connection resonates and also the timing of this film (in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election) is perfect.

"Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn" premiered this week on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in politics and/or want to better understand how events from decades ago still influence what is happening to this very day, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.