She Said

Starring: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Tom Pelphrey, Adam Shapiro, Andre Braugher, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Zach Grenier, Gwyneth Paltrow (voice)(uncredited), Frank Wood
Directed by: Maria Schrader
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) investigate allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Review:

Tim: Maria Schrader's She Said is an important movie. It's thoroughly engaged and well crafted, and it's a timely look at a monster and two brave women who helped take him down. There's a few moments where the truth might be stretched for the sake of the story, but overall, I found the story to be told in a good faith effort to reveal what these two women went through to open the floodgates and take down a predator. I wish more people watched this movie.

As we've all seen, the allegations against Harvey Weinstein proved to be more than founded and his crimes and the horrors he inflicted on an incredible amount of women is one of the Hollywood tragedies of the last several decades. The fact that the system was designed to protect him, to allow this behavior to continue, year-after-year and decade-after-decade is something that is so horrifying. This film mentions that, but doesn't go into nearly enough detail. Weinstein is a despicable human being and I'm glad that his crimes finally caught up to him. There's no punishment too severe for him, in my mind. I also appreciate a film like this comes out to help paint him in an appropriate light. He's a disgusting excuse for a person and I hope history remembers him only for his worst acts. We all need to condemn him and those who enabled him. This film tells that story powerfully. I loved the many scenes Schrader gives to the women who he victimized. They are afraid, shattered, but find the courage to talk about their experiences. Listening to them recount their encounters with Weinstein doesn't make for easy viewing, but it's so important we listen anyway. It's hard not to watch this film and reflect on the millions of women around the world who have their own terrible stories to tell.

I really appreciated how the film focused on the efforts of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. These two women were instrumental in bringing down Weinstein. It's been far too long since we had a really good journalism movie (maybe the journalists of the world could, I don't know, do a better job so that there's more stories like this to tell?). The film did a fantastic job casting Zoe Kazan as Jodi and Carey Mulligan as Megan. I like Kazan, but most of my reviews of her movies have painted her in a less-than-flattering light. I think my frustration was knowing she was capable of more than she delivered. Ruby Sparks or The Big Sick featured fine performances, but nothing special. This is much closer to what she's capable of delivering. Her character came across as intelligent, driven, but vulnerable. The fact that she conveys both sides of the character causes her to remain in our mind. She's played not as a hero, but as a regular woman who achieved something extraordinary. I felt like her vulnerable moments in the film really endeared us to her. Carey Mulligan is definitely a more experienced actress and she shines in movies like this. This is yet another terrific performance from her. She plays Megan with steel in her blood. I was so impressed by how she characterized this woman. And yet, she's not flawless, either. Mulligan is certain to show her in more vulnerable moments as well. Seeing Mulligan and Kazan interacting with each other was wonderful- these two incredible characters had a lot of similarities and their partnership achieved something incredible, helping to start a movement that swept the globe. On a side note to Hollywood, we desperately need more movies like this- featuring two strong women in the lead who work together to accomplish a major goal. I can rattle off numerous movies like this featuring two men. We're desperate for more of this kind of film.

The supporting cast was great, too. Patricia Clarkson was her usual effective self. She definitely adds to this film, even with her restrained performance. It was interesting to watch her make an impact in subtle ways. I always love seeing Andre Braugher and believe he immediately makes any movie better. His performance here is strong and while it's smaller, he gets a few brilliant scenes towards the end. Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton both added emotional supporting performances that gave a voice to women who were quieted for far too long. Tom Pelphrey added a nice, but small supporting performance. I also love that Ashley Judd appeared as herself. This was important to the film- Judd was an early supporter of this investigation and I love that she appeared prominently in the film. I give Gwyneth Paltrow credit, too- she only lends her voice to the film in an uncredited role, but having her part of this made a difference. She was involved in helping Jodi and Megan and it adds credibility by having her voice herself.

I did struggle a little with how The New York Times is portrayed as this paragon of virtue in investigative journalism. The Times has a ton of problems right now and I think as an institution, deserves a great deal of criticism. For example, they sat on this story for many years, until it felt "safe" to publish it. That isn't examined in the movie. They have had their own bad responses to sexual assault allegations internally, too. I think it's important to note that the Times and many of our current journalistic establishments are often falling short of the mark. For the purposes of this film as a piece of entertainment, I understand the decision not to get into this.

What's most important with She Said is that it delivers a powerful message by shining a light on sexual predators, whom are desperate to remain in the shadows. I love how it pulls Weinstein out by his fat jowls to show him for what he was- a bully, a criminal, human sewage in a suit. I hate that guy. Schrader, though, needed to craft a worthwhile film around this message and she absolutely does. She Said might not deliver the knockout punch that the best journalism movies deliver, but it's exceptionally well crafted. This is an intense movie. It's not quite on-the-edge-of-your-seat, but I was never bored for a moment throughout the 2 hour, 9 minute runtime. This real life story shows up in exceptionally entertaining fashion while putting good out into the world. This film missed out on any big end-of-year nominations and I can see that. It's exceptionally good, but not great. That being said, I still have nothing but praise for this film. It's difficult to watch, but inspiring, hopeful, and memorable. She Said is well worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: All the President's Men, The Post, Snowden