Where's My Roy Cohn?

source: Where's My Roy Cohn?

Lots of information to take in and explains more than I expected not just about Roy Cohn but other people that he has been associated with. Explains the belief system that he basically followed as well. I will leave it at that and leave it to the viewer to watch it unscathed.

I would liked to have watched this documentary however, it was made impossible because, right at the beginning of the documentary where "taped voice " was used; it was impossible to hear what was said because. the music sound track overwhelmed the vocal. I tried 3 times to make out was was said, to no avail therefore, from my point of view; if one cannot hear the "opening argument", one can never make out what is meant, even by skipping to where vocal sound is clearer. Something will always be missing, turning a 1000 piece jigsaw into a 999 piece.

Humans like all animals try to save energy, for us we call it laziness. Ignorance is one manifestation. Cohn was the opposite - intelligent, relentless, and he knew how to take advantage of that human condition, "It is the use of the big lie ... accusation ... in the name of Americanism ... political value of wrapping yourself in the flag ... and always when meeting with reporters say 'God bless America'". Cohn stoked fear from McCarthy & the communists to N.Y. mobsters then eventually to N.Y. real money - real estate & the Trump family. Even when the Justice Dept. went after the aforementioned he still won by taking advantage of ignorance & as he taught Trump - change the discussion by attacking your opponents.

Very interesting documentary about American politics but suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome like most products of the media.

First Hit: Cohn was a despicable arrogant man, and I can see why he and Trump were good friends. When Donald Trump asked out loud, "where's my Roy Cohn," he was fondly thinking about his past relationship and mentor Roy Cohn. Cohn was a former federal prosecutor who prosecuted the Rosenbergs' in 1951 and then became assistant to Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy communist hearings of 1954. Regarding the Rosenberg trial, in one of the clips in this movie, he's shown saying he would have liked to flip the switch to kill them both. His hooded eye look, when he talked, gave many people the sense and feeling that Roy was the devil, shady, to say the least. In the McCarthy hearings, Joseph McCarthy and Cohn made names for themselves. Cohn and McCarthy were pathological in their intent that they alone were the defenders of our democracy. In doing so, they believed they needed to call-out and root out anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer. They were focused on fear-based thought that the Soviets (Russia and the Soviet Union at the time) were going to destroy our government and our way of life. During these sets of hearings, they destroyed the lives of many people. What we see as audience members are that both McCarthy and Cohn used the tactic of deflection of the truth with an alternative story to push attention on to something other than what needs to be focused on. Although I was unaware of it earlier, the film also points out the McCarthy was a closet gay man. With Cohn also being a closeted gay man, the hearings also helped to deflect attention to their own personal stories and struggles. It also provided fodder for their downfall. Reading the above, do you note how Trump uses the same pattern of deflection to steer attention away from his own wrongdoing? Yes, this is what DJT does, when he is caught up in something that is a detriment to himself, he deflects and pushes the subject towards something else. Additionally, throughout the film, Cohn is quoted and is shown saying he never apologizes or admits he is wrong about anything. Note the similarity to DJT? When did DJT learn more about the effects of openly lying and deflecting away from the real story? Donald Trump and his father Fred met Cohn in 1973 when DJT and his father were being sued by the US Government for violating the Fair Housing Act. Cohn came to the rescue. Continuing the pattern of lying and deflection, the case was not prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It was at this time, Donald and Roy became close friends, and for years Cohn worked with Trump to excoriate opponents of the DJT companies. Roy became Donald's mentor. The film spends time talking about his upbringing and his lifestyle. It showed him high from the full range of drugs he'd consume, but it was also always about creating a more prominent story somewhere else so that the attention to his own issues or behavior was not being scrutinized. Cohn denied he was AIDS-stricken and until the end he publicly stated he wasn't gay and that he didn't have AIDS, although his friend Nancy and Ronald Reagan got him into specialized AIDS treatment programs. I cannot imagine that he died with internal peace. The only redeeming value brought up in the film about Cohn was that he was loyal to his friends. It was interesting to note that when he was finally disbarred from practicing law for his many illegal practices, his friends, including Trump, failed to show him support. The documentary uses photos, news stories, and film/video clips of interviews with Cohn to document Cohn's career. Matt Tyrnauer directed this film chronologically and highlighted the salient points of Cohn's life. Overall: It's no wonder Trump said, "where's my Roy Cohn" when he admonished his Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not lying, covering up, or protecting him like Cohn. Cohn was a liar and thief, and as wrong as Sessions was, he wouldn't go that far.

"Where Is My Roy Cohn?" is a documentary about (in)famous lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn. As the movie opens, we get a general introduction to Cohn: "His contempt for the law was clear", and then "I don't car what the law is, I want to know who the judge is". We then go to "1951", when as a 23 yr. lawyer, Cohn becomes Chief Counsel for the (jn)famous McCarthy Committee and its relentless chasing of communists (real or perceived)... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the 'plot' would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director Matt Tyrnauer, whi in the last couple of years gave us excellent documentaries like "Citizen Jane" and "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood". Here the director examines a well-know public figure, Roy Cohn, who became a much feared lawyer (fist in public service, then in private practice). Along the way he becomes a larger than life "fixer" of everything and anyone. "No matter what, always claim victory, and never apologize", was Cohn's favorite mantra. Sounds familiar? A young Donald Trump eagerly learns from Cohn and in fact Trump is featured extensively in the film. This movie is not a flattering or admiring portrait of Cohn (on the contrary, Cohn comes across as a stone cold sleezebag, albeit a very samr one). But I must admit that the documentary is well crafted and the time just flew by. Incidentally, the movie's title is of course a quote from Trump, when the Russia investgation exploded and Trump mutters to no-one in particular but himself "Where is my Roy Cohn?", as apparently Trump wishes he had a fixer of the caliber of Cohn, never mind the ethics or legality of it all. (And Giuliani only wishes he could be a fixer at the level of Cohn.) The documentary recently opened, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday matinee screening where I saw this at was not attended well (exactly 6 people, including myself). That's a shame. Hopefully this will find a larger audience as it expands onto other platforms. Meaning, if you have any interest in politics, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

This documentary is a must see for anyone who wants to understand Trump's basic philosophy: deny, lie, attack, then own it and say so what if it's true and what are you gonna do about it? This same philosophy worked for Cohn, his mentor, until it didn't and he was left to die alone, disbarred and broke. It is my dream ending for the current occupant of the White House.

This is a fascinating documentary of Roy Cohn, a New York power broker and uber lawyer, whose adversary, legal or otherwise, you didn't want to be. We see some of the history of the 20th century as Cohn was involved in the Rosenberg's trial ("I would have pulled the switch if they'd let me"), the Army-McCarthy hearings which ushered the downfall of McCarthyism (Cohn was chief Counsel to Senator McCarthy), and numerous mob trials, including the notorious John Gotti, where - no surprise - Cohn pleaded for the mobsters. The film shows an earlier interview with Cohn where this legal barracuda says: "in our adversary system, the lawyer's job is to win, and to win he should try anything that works" (paraphrase). Accordingly, when a certain landlord and his son were sued by the Justice department for racial discrimination, they hired Cohn who promptly counter-sued the Feds for $100 M. This was the lesson Cohn gave the landlord's young son: you never give in, you never admit you're wrong, you go on the offensive and attack your adversaries in any way you can. I happened to remember seeing "Citizen Cohn," a docudrama (HBO - 1992), where Cohn's confrontational manner was fostered by his wealthy, hard-bitten mother who dominated her weaker husband. This documentary, on the other hand, seems to emphasize Cohn's mother doting on him as well as his affection for her. I'm no psychologist but perhaps Cohn's aggressive manner was fostered by his absurd attempts to hide his homosexuality, when everyone knew it, up to his death from AIDs (which he called liver cancer). Another fascinating item from this doc was how this aggressive, seemingly unlikable man had scores of friends among New York society. I guess power is a seductive agent. I have to mention before my closing paragraph in this review that the editing and research in this film were outstanding. Cohn cloaked himself as a great American patriot which is hard to square with his famous comment (also depicted in the film) that: "my goal is to die with no money and owing the IRS millions." Another self-styled patriot, who's a friend neither of taxes or revealing how much he pays, gave us the title of this film, since when this political "personality" was confronted with the Mueller probe and was displeased with the aggressiveness of his lawyers (Rudy Giuliani!), he is supposed to have said: "where's my Roy Cohn?" Obviously, this individual mentored by the notorious Roy Cohn, resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As someone who followed Cohn's career in real time it's clear that the film tells real truths about a complicated and fascinating man with no moral boundaries or bottom. And the lesson of Cohn's life, never admit anything, never apologize, and always hit back harder than you were hit, is abundantly demonstrated. Even his own relatives understood the truth. You will not lose interest in this film.