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Evaluation by Brian Lowry, CNN
Though dedicated to Armie Hammer and his household, the title “Home of Hammer” evokes ideas of British horror movies launched underneath the Hammer label from the Nineteen Fifties to the ’70s, which doesn’t really feel coincidental. That’s as a result of this three-part Discovery+ docuseries is sadly offered as if it had been a horror film, with all its trappings, because it seeks to attach the scandal-plagued actor to the rich dynasty from which he got here. (Discovery+, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Hammer has been under investigation for sexual assault since 2021, after a lady accused him of rape. He has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing, on the time saying via his lawyer that the allegation, stemming from an alleged 2017 encounter, was “outrageous” and mentioned his interactions with the lady and different companions have been “utterly consensual, mentioned and agreed upon upfront.”
A spokesman for the LA County District Legal professional’s Workplace instructed CNN Thursday that the case stays underneath investigation. “A specifically assigned prosecutor is working with regulation enforcement as they proceed their investigation,” he mentioned, including that the proof will likely be evaluated as soon as it’s submitted.
Amid the publicity surrounding the rape allegation and the discharge of personal Instagram DMs, the actor subsequently withdrew from movie and TV initiatives, together with “Shotgun Wedding,” a film with Jennifer Lopez; and a streaming sequence, “The Offer,” based mostly on the making of the film “The Godfather.”
In asserting his exit from the previous, Hammer issued an announcement calling the “on-line assaults” in opposition to him “vicious and spurious.”
CNN has reached out to a consultant of Hammer for touch upon the sequence, which notes that Hammer declined to be interviewed.
“Home of Hammer” spends most of its first chapter laying out the allegations in opposition to Hammer, together with interviews with two girls, Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison, relating to their relationships with him.
But “Home of Hammer” goes nicely past that a part of the story, increasing to embody the “darkish misdeeds,” as Hammer’s aunt Casey Hammer places it, related to different members of the Hammer household, courting again to patriarch Armand Hammer, the billionaire oil tycoon.
It’s there the place the sequence ceaselessly feels as if it’s considerably overreaching, not solely in its stylistic selections — with eerie music and cameras panning down darkened hallways — however by seemingly trying to color the Hammers’ alleged habits via the years as one thing greater than excesses related to energy and privilege, however virtually some form of inherited evil.
Casey Hammer thus turns into a centerpiece of the docuseries, having written a ebook, “Surviving My Birthright,” alleging abusive or unsavory habits related to males in her household. Towards the tip of the docuseries, she meets with Vucekovich, commending her for the braveness to talk out, amid representations of the social-media abuse that she and others have skilled for doing so.
“Home of Hammer” clearly has a narrative to inform, however its salacious method lacks the main focus or self-discipline to do its most intriguing facets justice.
Particularly, there’s a case to be made that Hammer members of the family have used their wealth, and the political energy related to it, to keep away from penalties. The depth of these connections are strengthened by footage of Armand Hammer hobnobbing with presidents, showing on discuss exhibits and rubbing elbows with excessive society, having hosted a non-public Palm Seashore occasion with Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1985, 5 years earlier than his dying.
Nonetheless, attempting to straight hyperlink varied alleged transgressions throughout generations dangers being problematic. Administrators Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs however hold returning to that theme, in addition to extra modern questions surrounding the “Name Me By Your Title” star and whether or not his profession can get well going ahead.
Whereas questions surrounding Armie Hammer stay comprehensible sources of media fascination and a focus, the extent to which these points may be traced to his household historical past serves as a trickier proposition. Maybe that’s why it seems like Discovery+ has constructed “Home of Hammer” on a rickety basis.
“Home of Hammer” premieres September 2 on Discovery+.
The-CNN-Wire
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