A good solid drama told in a refreshingly straight forward way of the two New York Times journalists who doggedly investigated and broke the scandal of sexual harassment, assault and rape of young actresses and staff by the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play the two reporters, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who struggle with the cover up and Non Disclosure Agreements that Weinstein and his organisation have used to silence the victims. The film effectively deals with the difficult presentation of journalists spending endless time on their mobile phones balancing the two women's own difficult lives as mothers and wives with trying to get the victims to go on the record. It's a powerful story, very well edited and directed and with first rate performances from the two leads ably assisted by Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher as their bosses. Ashley Judd, who was a key witness and victim the first to speak out, plays herself very effectively. Like other major exposé type dramas such as All The President's Men (1976) and Spotlight (2015) this is a disturbing true story and a tale of remarkable journalism. Well worth checking out.
Following the template of “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight,” this one is a tense and absorbing film, one that sticks close to the nuts and bolts of what reporters do. We also see Twohey and Kantor at home, juggling work and husbands and children, and we feel their deep solidarity with the women they’re trying to coax into talking. Their reporting connects former assistants, film stars (including Ashley Judd, playing herself), as well as the financial executives who oversaw the payouts to silence Harvey’s victims. We see the journalistic juggling they have to do to build a sense of collective power in these women where there’s been none. This is a film about conversations in diners and restaurants, phone calls and surprise house calls, hunts for evidence that corroborates what is known intuitively. Schrader’s direction is restrained and respectful to the gravity of its subject matter, allowing the inherent drama to do most of the heavy lifting - moments which connect the past to the present establish one of the film’s most affecting threads: a generation of women forced to abandon their dreams and live alone with their nightmares.
However, after a compelling first hour, the film doesn't quite build to the electrifying payoff quite the way you want it to. This is, unfortunately, partly because of both Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan -there's a naturalistic chemistry between them as they develop a bond of their shared pursuit of the truth, but otherwise their performances are frustratingly bland and by-rote in a 'made-for-tv' kind of style - and partly because of a frustratingly stilted dialogue which dissipates the intensity at key moments. But the main problem is mainly because, despite an insistence at times in the script that the 'bigger picture' is Hollywood and a sinister corporate web, the film doesn't have the strength or scope to move beyond Weinstein himself. We learn a little about his method of buying his victims’ silence with expensive settlements and using non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon against them, but Weinstein’s network of enablers—including the high-powered actors and directors who knew what was going on and looked the other way—get what’s essentially a free pass, remaining largely unmentioned. All in all, a worthy piece on a vitally important subject, but something of a missed opportunity, I fear.
After Spotlight, the incredible film about the exposing of the horrific & dispicible crimes of thousands of Catholic priests all over the world, pretty much every investigative film involving the evolution of a story which launches a seismic change across the globe is compared to that film, so profound it's influence still is. Into this genre comes She Said, looking at the work of 2 New York Times journalists exposing the disgusting behaviour of Harvey Weinstein, as well as unpicking the enormously well-funded & highly intimidating machine of client journalists/lawyers he surrounded himself with.
The film takes place inside both the corridors of the actual New York Times building, as well as all over the world, as the journalists chase down leads & convince terrified & emotionally broken women to recount their experiences, as well as speaking to the men who enabled Weinstein and his behaviour, turning a blind eye & being paid handsomely for this convenient "loss of sight."
One element which is both highly distressing & hugely impactful is the playing of the actual recording of Weinstein intimidating & attempting to again sexually assault an actress who he had groped previously and was wearing a police wire.
As Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, Carey Mulligan & Zoe Kazan are great. Both highly skilled actresses with incredible presence, they embody the role of their characters. The film also welcomingly shows their lives outside of the investigation, including a profoundly moving look at the effects of postpartum depression suffered by Twohey.
However, this film has one incredible scene between Kazan & Samantha Morton, who plays a real-life woman called Zelda Perkins, who confronted Weinstein after he raped her colleague. As someone who saw the interview at the time with Perkins (type in Zelda Perkins newsnight interview into YouTube,) Morton's performance is so accurate, you would think you were watching the actual woman. I'm talking a Daniel Day-Lewis level of performance. It is masterful.
You are left in awe at the level of journalism & tenacity it took to bring Weinstein's crimes to light, and this film ably & compassionately tells this story.
A difficult but excellent watch.