Square One (2019)

Square One is compelling because it treats one of pop culture’s most volatile chapters like a true investigation, not a headline—patiently tracing the 1993 Chandler allegations with a clear-eyed, document-driven approach that invites you to think rather than react. Danny Wu’s tone is sober and searching, and the film’s use of archive material and interviews creates a courtroom-adjacent tension without resorting to sensationalism. If you’re tired of documentaries that feel like verdicts delivered in advance, this one offers genuinely fresh perspectives and the kind of insight that can reframe what you thought you knew about Michael Jackson’s legacy. It won’t be for viewers who want a quick, definitive conclusion, but for anyone open to careful reassessment, it’s an absorbing watch.

Square One is trying to re-examine the 1993 Michael Jackson allegations with a “let’s go back to the beginning” investigative mindset, and it’s clearly made to challenge the prevailing narrative rather than sit neutrally in the middle. If you’re expecting a broad, balanced documentary that gives equal weight to all sides and feels like a definitive overview of the case, this may frustrate you because it can play more like an argument assembled to persuade than an open-ended inquiry. The filmmaking is straightforward and talk-heavy, leaning on interviews and archival material, so viewers who want a more cinematic, rigorously journalistic approach might find it repetitive or one-note. That said, if you’re interested in a focused deep-dive into specific early details and media dynamics around the allegations, it can be a compelling watch—as long as you’re comfortable with its clear point of view.