Rating: 8.6
Premise: New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation - a story that helped ignite a movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood.
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Universal
Directed by Maria Schrader
Screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey & Rebecca Corbett
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Ashley Judd
Runtime: 2hr 8min
Rating: 14A
Drama
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IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
RT Audience Score: 87%
Metacritic Score: 73
CinemaScore: A
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My Review:
“She Said” is an incredibly important, must see movie! I was riveted by the heroic power of journalism on display, and I loved how honest and straightforward the movie was about sexual assault and the Harvey Weinstein scandals. It puts the survivors’ stories upfront over unnecessary sensationalism or cheap journalism cliches, focusing on candor and empathy. It is well-written, well directed, and well acted — an important, must see movie for this year!
We all now know about Harvey Weinstein’s disgusting behaviour towards women as a major producer in Hollywood, due to the infamous New York Times articles that first broke the story in 2017, sparking the Me Too movement, as well as shattering the silence around sexual assault in Hollywood and all over the world. “She Said” follows the two New York Times reporters who initially wrote the article as they follow threads and discover many ex-employees of Weinstein, dating back to the 1990s, though almost all are reticent to speak out, many hinting at legal ramifications for doing so. This eventually unravels Weinstein’s pattern of inappropriate behaviour, hidden under nondisclosure agreements and propped up by a network of enablers.
Truthfully, I cannot say enough how important of a movie this is. And frankly that even makes me not want to critique it, because despite its flaws, the film will spark many conversations between viewers and allow them to really appreciate not only the power of journalism on display, but also reflect on the world we live in and how we can all work to rid it of sexual assault in all instances. These are discussions that need to be had in this day and age, and while it is sensitive subject matter, I feel this film really allows the viewer to empathize with survivors. It is hard to watch at times, but I loved how straightforward and honest the film was about this topic. It didn’t over-dramatize anything for the sake of making a more entertaining film, instead it came off as more truthful and realistic, which only made hearing the survivors’ stories even more horrific.
The film is intense and had me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime! The script is really intelligent and well written. It takes the “Spotlight” approach by taking the story to its leanest elements. As I previously mentioned, instead of creating a sensationalized dramatization of events, this is instead just a journalism procedural. But my god, is it ever riveting. I was hooked right from the opening! This could also be because I am a sucker for a good journalism movie! “She Said” is a worthy entry in this sub-genre, right next to “Zodiac”, “The Post”, “All the President’s Men” and of course the Oscar winning “Spotlight”. I just loved seeing the power of journalism on display, but not only that, seeing the intense research and work put into finding sources and information — the attention to detail is impeccable — it just gives me so much respect for journalists. The script was also really good at showing how hard it was for the journalists to get information despite most people in the industry knowing about Weinstein’s behaviour, as well as all the ways the system kept people quiet and how Weinstein legally silenced people. After seeing this, it is a miracle of journalism that the Times was able to publish the full article!
As I keep mentioning over and over, I loved how this movie felt more truthful than most of Hollywood’s “based on a true story” movies. It made it feel more powerful, more real, and I love this choice made by the director Maria Schrader. “She Said” unfolds in a way that doesn’t call attention to itself, which could be mistaken for “safe,” but Maria Schrader is shrewd in her approach, centering the survivor’s stories over unnecessary flourish or cheap journalism drama cliches. I find it amusing when people critique the film by saying it has bad direction simply because it isn’t visually flashy. Direction does not equal cinematography, and frankly it was a good choice not to go full cinematic with the visuals, as that doesn’t really match the tone of the film. Schrader’s commitment to candor and emphasis on empathy - felt in every frame - is the definition of good direction. You really get a chance to feel and understand the survivors, as well as the struggle of the journalists to pull their investigation together.
Now, while I loved the film and think it is a pretty good awards contender, it does have its flaws. The film does have a pacing issue and feels 15 minutes too long at times, as well it doesn’t have much emotional weight towards the main characters. It lacks their own character development from a story perspective, therefore it was hard to get emotionally invested in their characters, but luckily the incredible performances made up for it. Both Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are fantastic in this! Kazan is easily the standout, this is certainly her best performance! But even then, it was the actresses who play the survivors who stole the show for me, especially Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle in their few scenes!
Regardless, the importance of this film rises above the issues and flaws one might notice with it. It’s one we have to consider from how important it is rather than how “good or bad” it is. This story needs to be seen and heard — and I really wish the advertising for this movie did a better job, because this movie is an important must watch! It is intense, riveting and powerful, a truly great film!
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Fun Fact: The movie was shot in the real New York Times building and is the first movie ever to use the real offices.
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