A One Mann’s Movies review of “She Said” (2022).
“She Said” is a movie in the great tradition of films about investigative journalism, so has many similarities with “The Post“, “Spotlight” and (my own personal favourite) “All the President’s Men”.
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) is a tenacious investigative journalist with a particular focus on sexual misconduct in the workplace. But while she’s on maternity leave, a new story comes across the desk of colleague Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan). The rumours centre around Miramax producer Harvey Weinstein, and Jodi – joined later by Megan – start to doorstep the women involved to try to see if there is fire behind the smoke.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC: “Sexual violence references, sexual threat, strong language”).
Talent:
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton.
Directed by: Maria Schrader.
Written by: Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Based on the book by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor.
Twitter Handle: #SheSaidFilm.
“She Said” Review:
Positives:
- It’s a gripping story, even though you know what the outcome was for Weinstein. The bravery of the women who stuck their heads above the parapet (including Ashley Judd, who plays herself in the movie) is extraordinary, and well presented here. The script is sparse, never decending into Aaron Sorkin levels of exposition, and there are some stand-out scenes. I particularly enjoyed the squirm-inducing back-pedalling where the young and inexperienced Kantor says a little too much to the husband (Edward Astor Chin) of one of the potential complainants.
- The two leads are extraordinarily good, particularly I thought Carey Mulligan (though I do have a soft spot for her!). A scene where Twohey comes back into work, suffering from post-natal depression, is wonderfully acted. Both actresses might be up for Oscar nominations, since it’s the sort of film that the Academy likes to recognise.
- Also impressive are Patricia Clarkson, as NY Times editor Rebecca Corbett – a more sympathetic figure than Jason Robards in ATPM – and Andre Braugher as the no-nonsense executive editor Dean Baquet, never worrying about putting the phone down on pontificating callers! And strong in supporting roles (it’s a really great ensemble cast) are the British acting power-houses of Jennifer Ehle (from “Saint Maud“) as a cancer-suffering ex-victim, and the wonderful Samanthan Morton (from “Minority Report” and “Save the Cinema“) as a ex-employee and key witness. The casting is so spot on for this movie, that I’ll ask the casting director – often overlooked in reviews – to take a bow. In this case it’s Francine Maisler.
- Normally when I see “Legal Department” people in the credits of a movie, I think “yeah…. cushy and easy life”. But I think they really earned their paycheck with this one. Being such recent history, and involving the likes of Weinstein, Donald Trump and Gwyneth Paltrow, the amount of fact-checking and backside-protecting that went into this one must have been extreme!
Negatives
- I kept constantly comparing and contrasting this to “All the President’s Men”, since I found stong similarities with it*. And so one of the things which I felt could have been improved upon was the degree of “threat” against the two women inherent in the story. Now, there can always be the debate, in a ‘true-story’ film like this, about the degree to which you “sex up” the story (no black-humour pun intended). But the nearest the implied intimidation against the women gets to actual threat here is when a car might (or might not) be skulking behind Kantor on a city street. And this doen’t feel tense enough. I compare and contract this to the fantastic scene in ATPM where Robert Redford, after meeting ‘Deep Throat’, is walking, then jogging, then running out of a ‘deserted’ car park before being suddenly being startled by a noise. Now THAT delivered real threat and tension.
- The illustrious Mrs Movie Man picked up on this one as a big negative for her: that at one point Twohey seems to blame her post-natal depression on the actions of “all the bloody men”. Now the film doesn’t shine a positive light on a particular subset of penis-owners. But to blame a common medical condition (surely largely hormone based?) on the whole of a gender group doesn’t seem either scientifically proven nor right.
Comparison with All the President’s Men*
My comparison between the two films was challenged by the illustrious Mrs Movie Man. But I think it’s valid since:
- Both films are about a pair of investigative journalists from a major newspaper (here the New York Times rather than the Washington Post);
- Both films have an editorial team that are diligent in making sure the facts hold up before they let the pair go to print;
- In both films, the journalists are up against powerful enemies who can wield both reputational and physical harm against the people challenging them;
- Both films show extensive scenes of door-stepping by the journalist to gather the facts of the case and to persuade individuals to “go on the record”.
Summary Thoughts on “She Said”
I really enjoyed this one. It had a gripping story, a solid script and a fine ensemble cast. And it will no doubt be seen, in launching the “Me Too” movement, as a turning point in history. Very much recommended.
Trailer for “She Said”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5pxUQecM3Y .
