The Michael Jackson Biopic cuts off in 1988 and critics are angry about it. They were not angry when Bohemian Rhapsody cut off in 1985 and it won Academy Awards. Biopics are not history. They are stories about real people, and they often eulogise their subjects. 

A Beautiful Mind, starring Russel Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, ignored some ugly truths about the genius John Nash. 

Schindler’s List conveniently drops off before Schindler abandons his wife and only touches on his post-war failures in written text afterwards. 

The portrayal of Frank Lucas in American Gangster bears no resemblance to the real man in terms of demeanour or intelligence. 

The Alan Turing Biopic (The Imitation Game) made up lots of things to turn him into a combination of Gregory House and James Bond (as if Turing wasn’t already interesting). 

In short, Biopics are not history. They are stories about people who existed and the writer and director take a slant. They edit out the inconvenient details and keep the best parts to tell a story that will make money. Some even want to ‘honour’ the subject, which is not what history is for. 

Watch Michael and you can love it or hate it. But whether it is historically accurate is irrelevant. You are not watching a documentary. This is a film with actors and a script. They make things up. They leave things out. Stories have protagonists and antagonists. Michael is no different. It won’t win any awards. Some will also point to the influence of the Jackson family as to why their cash cow is being portrayed as a hero. However, the makers of A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster and The Imitation Game all decided to leave out inconvenient facts about their subjects for a combination of entertainment choices and character strength.