17 Nov REVIEW – ‘She Said’ tells a powerful story in an unremarkable style

The fall of the once-almighty and all-round piece of sh*t film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 started a domino effect we’re still seeing to this day. His long-overdue reckoning kickstarted the #MeToo movement and systemic female sexual harassment was finally getting the attention it deserved. It permeated practically every industry around the globe, but those events centred in the world of show business grabbed the biggest headlines. Weinstein was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was a damn large one at that. It was only a matter of time before the tale behind the investigation that brought him down made its way to the big screen.

A powerful story told in an unremarkable style, She Said soars on the strength of this gripping true tale and the solid performances of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan. While this film lacks the nuance and character depth of other journalism-based titles, there’s enough here to prove the necessity of its existence. It’s ultimately a testament to the power of investigative journalism and the acumen and determination often required to get the truth out to the eyeballs of the world.

Based on the 2019 book of the same name, the film follows New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor (Zazan) and Megan Twohey (Mulligan) and their five-month investigation into the decades-long misconduct of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. When we first meet Megan in mid-2016, she’s just wrapped up a damning story on presidential candidate Donald Trump featuring allegations of sexual harassment of several women. After fielding death threats and a fiery phone call from Trump himself, she’s looking forward to taking time off to have her first baby.

Meanwhile, Jodi has just begun initial research into rumblings she’s heard about Weinstein and his past “indiscretions” that have consistently been swept under the rug. After uncovering numerous NDAs that prevent anyone from talking to her, Jodi realises there’s more to this story than meets the eye and recruits Megan to join the story upon her return from maternity leave. Struggling with crippling postpartum depression, Megan welcomes the distraction.

With the full support of their editors Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher), Jodi and Megan begin to unravel the threads of a story that’s bigger than they ever imagined. There’s just one problem; no one they speak to is willing to go on the record. Weinstein’s reach is great and they consistently encounter women who are too terrified or tied up in legal red tape to put their name to the brewing story. Regardless, Jodi and Megan are determined to see this story published to bring down a man who clearly sees himself as untouchable.

For decades, any film centred on a real-life case of investigative journalism found itself inevitably compared to Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 masterpiece All the President’s Men. Nowadays, it’s Tom McCarthy’s 2015 Best Picture winner Spotlight that’s considered the modern gold standard. It’s a high bar that She Said never quite clears. It’s not that this story of systemic sexual harassment in Hollywood isn’t as important or gripping as the Watergate scandal or the Catholic Church’s child sex abuse cover-ups. It’s more that those films knew the key to creating a fully-rounded piece of cinema was focusing on the characters behind the exposé as much as the story itself.

That’s not to say director Maria Schrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz are completely disinterested in exploring who these two brave and determined female journalists were. The first act of She Said is entirely invested in portraying their private lives and the struggles they faced as working mothers. While Megan finds solace in the escapism her work provides, Jodi is doing everything she can to shield her young daughter from the nightmarish details of the story she’s covering. These moments give us insight into who these women were away from their laptops. But once the Weinstein investigation really takes off, character development takes a backseat, much to the film’s detriment.

Naturally, you’re watching this film to learn about how this exposé came to be, so it’s not inherently a problem that Schrader loses focus on the players surrounding it. But you can’t shake the feeling everything that’s being presented to you could just as easily be ascertained by a quick scan of Weinstein’s Wikipedia page. It doesn’t help it’s all crafted in such a procedural fashion without any real theatrical flair. Perhaps Schrader wants to avoid taking the emphasis off the beats and events Lenkiewicz’s screenplay is hitting, but it does leave the final product feeling devoid of any genuine soul or poignancy.

Scrader does get the chance to showcase her directorial skills in two startling moments that will hit you like a tonne of bricks. The film opens in the early 90s on the Irish film set of one of Weinstein’s productions where a joyful, doe-eyed production assistant gleefully starts her career in the film industry. Mere moments later, Schrader cuts to the same young woman sprinting through the streets with tears streaming down her face, clearly distraught after some unimaginable run-in with Weinstein. It’s a stunning way to start this film, particularly when there’s no context to what we’ve just witnessed.

Later, we hear the horrifying secret recording of actress Ambra Battilana Gutierrez as the predatory Weinstein attempts to coax her into his hotel suite. Schrader presents this audio over footage from cinematographer Natasha Braier, who sweeps through the deserted hallways of the hotel where it all occurred like a ghost retracing horrors of the past. If you’ve never heard this gut-wrenching recording before, it’s a lot to take in. If only She Said looked to offer more moments like these that stretch outside the confines of the investigation itself we may have had a true masterpiece on our hands.

Thankfully, Kazan and Mulligan rise above the stiff screenplay with engaging and captivating performances that get to the heart of both women’s unrelenting quest to see this story published. The two have wonderful chemistry in creating a real sense of comraderie and sisterhood between two journalists who barely knew each other before this story thrust them together. Kazan is perfectly cast as the uncertain, less-experienced journalist whose wise enough to know she can’t do it alone. The ever-reliable Mulligan is given the meatier role; one that awards season is dictating as “supporting,” which is utter nonsense. She’s typically magnetic as the ballsy reporter with a short tolerance for bullshit and a knack for eliciting information out of those seemingly unwilling to provide it.

But the truth strength and heart of She Said lies in the numerous scenes with personal testimonies from Weinstein’s victims. These conversational moments are soul-crushing to behold, particularly those of Zelda Perkins (a sublime Samantha Morton who all but steals this film with just one scene) and Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle), as we hear their encounters in great detail and feel every drop of emotion conveyed by these supporting players. These women have long buried the trauma they experienced. No one’s been willing to listen and Jodi and Megan provide the safe space for them to finally reveal their stories and the misery Weinstein put them through.

In the hands of a female director, there are wisely no flashbacks or recreations of the sexual assaults themselves. Schrader has no interest in sensationalism or exploitation of these crimes. She allows the stories to speak for themselves and let these women reclaim their power. That being said, it does feel a little too soon for Hollywood to be patting itself on the back by virtue of this film.  There’s a self-congratulatory angle to this film that will likely rub many the wrong way. Has anything really changed in the film industry in the five years since Weinstein was blacklisted and eventually jailed for his crimes? And wasn’t one of this film’s executive producers credibly accused of physically and emotionally abusing his ex-wife just one month ago?

Regardless, She Said is another cinematic tribute to the world of investigative journalism and, more importantly, the courage of those women who bravely chose to step into the spotlight to finally end the foul reign of one of Hollywood’s biggest serial predators. Without the gamechanging work of Kantor and Twohey, Weinstein may still sit in a position of power and his past crimes might still remain hidden away. If you only have base-level knowledge of this story, this film may be entirely eye-opening and shocking. For those who lived and breathed this scandal, it’s mostly just a replay of events that still linger fresh in our minds.

Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha MortonDirector: Maria Schrader
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Screenplay: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Cinematography: Natasha Braier
Production Design: Meredith Lippincott
Costume Design: Brittany Loar
Music: Nicholas Britell
Editor: Hansjörg Weißbrich
Running Time: 128 minutes
Release Date: 17th November 2022 (Australia)