She Said (2022)

Based upon their Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation (and novelization) from just a few years ago, this docudrama tells the true story of New York Times' journalists Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zooey Kazan) in their exhaustive effort to get to the bottom of rampant sexual harassment and workplace abuse in Hollywood....mainly at Miramax Pictures under the thumb of Harvey Weinstein throughout the '90's and early '2000's.  This film was directed by Maria Schrader and also stars Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, and Samantha Morton among several others.  

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

SHE SAID – 2022

Directed by Maria Schrader

Starring Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Angela Yeoh, and Zach Grenier

Genre: Journalistic Docudrama/Thriller (Audio clip)

Though it's probably too soon to be able to determine as to whether it's as good as those other films, She Said is an extremely entertaining and thoughtful journalistic docudrama following in the grand tradition of movies like Spotlight, All The President's Men, and The Insider. I can recognize strong, confident filmmaking when I see it and German director Maria Schrader delivers that in spades with what apparent is her English language debut. Her film is very much walking the same kind narrative tightrope that Zero Dark Thirty walked ten years ago or actually even All The President's Men back in '76....HOW do you portray a such a current story which is STILL unfolding real-time right now? This is a film basically chronicling incidents which helped kickstart the #MeToo movement barely five years ago.....

Well the short answer is NOT easily as we witness from the travails of the two main protagonists of this story - Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) - speaking truth to power CAN feel quite thankless and the parallels to All The President's Men are certainly there....watching two intrepid reporters clawing their way through a tough story amidst the vastness of a busy newsroom.

But the fact that the vast, vast majority of the work we see THIS pair of reporters doing to crack this story is off-hours via smartphone often at inopportune times and/or places serves as a stark reminder of where modern journalism has gone post-Internet. One of the most well-explored themes of Rebecca Lenkiewicz's screenplay (adapted from Kantor and Twohey's award-winning novel recounting their investigation) is how in THIS newspaper world, it's no longer about scrambling to make deadlines to make it in time for the latest printing of the latest edition....now it's posting and updating stories online real-time continuously. 😒 The work never really stops....

Though we only occasionally get a view into their personal lives, Mulligan and Kazan both do a VERY effective job of portraying the tirelessness and drain of performing their jobs....as they are both mothers to young children as well. Even though they're chasing down many prominent figures from the glamorous world of Holloway, none of this is never glamorized. The story takes into their exhaustive efforts to find sources who are willing to at least talk and....possibly.....maybe.....eventually...go on the record. In fact finding folks who are willing to go on the record about their mistreatment at the hands of Harvey Weinstein ends up not only being the greatest source of tension but also wrings the most emotion from this narrative. 

Beyond that, you have strong supporting work throughout the cast including top-flight character actor Zach Grenier in an unusually sympathetic role (for him....he played the boss in Fight Club) playing a former Miramax exec kinda serving as this movie's answer to Deep Throat PLUS two elites who I can watch in anything: Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher portraying real-life 'Times editors Rebecca Corbett and Dean Baquet. Braugher's Baquet kinda serves as this movie's answer to Jason Robards/Ben Bradlee dishing out some of the more entertainingly testy exchanges with various folks from the Weinstein/Miramax side of things.

Much of the more uncomfortable subject matter relating to assault and/or harassment is handled with a generous amount of delicacy but never minimized. Overall this film just walks an extremely tricky tightrope in much the same manner that Spotlight did several years back with relation to its abuse content....sorry it's hard NOT to compare it to other similar films of note but this film just packs a punch as those comparisons ARE quite favorable!

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Also of note is yet another banger score from up-and-comer Nicholas Brittell who has just been killing it recently with stuff like Don't Look Up, If Beale Street Could Talk, and ESPECIALLY loads of stirring music for the Star Wars series Andor. His music for this docudrama is sufficiently tense and emotional in all the right spots including some lovely contributions in certain scenes from cellist Caitlin Sullivan.  For me, the highlight of this score was for a scene relatively late in the movie with the aforementioned Zach Grenier playing Miramax/Weinstein execute Irwin Reiter meeting at a restaurant with Jodi…..and it’s a TENSE scene as he clearly wants to tell her something but has been very cagey.  Finally he breaks down, puts down his smartphone which has a company memo on display, and then just walks away to the bathroom for a few…..what he’s giving her is CRITICAL to their investigation and as Jodi looks at it, taking pictures, the cello really builds into an intense crescendo.  The track is called “Do What You Want With These” - it’s very effective music for a very effective scene.  (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):  

As of the recording of this episode, She Said has been in wide release for roughly one week and to say that it’s not attracting a sizeable audience is an UNDERSTATEMENT.  This film cost $30 million to produce and will be lucky to even reach HALF of that number in worldwide box office.  Now this certainly wouldn’t the first journalistic docudrama to underperform commercially….in fact going back decades, you could list several films along these lines which I LOVE but not enough folks saw them in theaters: Quiz Show, Shattered Glass, Frost/Nixon, Zodiac and the previously mentioned The Insider.  I mean that’s one impressive list so She Said is in good company.  

That said…..COME ON American audiences: tens of millions of them out there just flocking to true crime content such as that “Dahmer” series on Netflix….how about checking out something in that vain which is much more thoughtful and not nearly as exploitive of its subject matter for a change?  I have said it before and I’ll say it again: if we WANT better movies for adults, then we have to SHOW UP for them bottom line. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

The emotional highpoints of this movie include two standout sequences which both relate to the interviews of former assistants of Weinstein.  Both of them are portrayed in raw, effective fashion by Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle. Ehle plays Laura Madden and pretty much steals the movie with her scenes. It honestly feels like she does this every time I see her on screen as she pulled off some similarly gripping moments with VERY different characters in comparatively sobering dramas Zero Dark Thirty and Contagion....I don't know but it just seems that if you're casting a prominent role in a film with VERY weighty subject matter, Ehle has just become one of those go-to actresses. 🤔 Her character also delivers what is likely the most impactful line of dialogue from this movie or any recent movie for that matter:

"It was like he took my voice that day, just when I was about to start finding it...." 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

There are just so many savvy choices made throughout this film to both ensure that the audience is able to keep up with the breadth of this story AND to ensure that what we’re watching is cinematic, even entertaining.  I mean this was an investigation with no shortage of moving parts….they were going through 20+ years of potential incidents with a private company which had offices all over the world.  The center of this investigation was one of the most media-savvy corporate leaders of the modern age and….there was a mixture of witnesses who were both widely known celebrities and those who worked behind the scenes often even getting MORE of the brunt of Harvey Weinstein’s abuse.  

Of course this TRULY gets kicked off with the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation from Jody Kantor and Megan Twohey who adeptly summarized all of their efforts in the novel “She Said” which this screenplay was based upon…..and from what I understand, both reporters were very involved as consultants in the production of this movie as well.  Beyond that, I wouldn’t envy anyone taking on the task of translating this story to the big screen and that task largely fell upon British writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz.  Her screenplay respects both the denseness of this story AND the emotions involved – in subtle ways, she keeps reminding us throughout that story both the reporters AND every witness/source have their own lives going on.  

For example, we learn early on that Megan just had a baby and is in fact experiencing post-partum depression….a lesser screenwriter would exploit this as a subplot to garner sympathy for the protagonist OR even use her post-partum experience in a clunky manner to demonstrate a metaphor for the whole Weinstein investigation.  Gratefully, neither of those routes are taken and this is never developed into a subplot which potentially overtake the narrative.  It’s effectively portrayed as just a harsh reality for Megan in her efforts to return to work for the ‘Times and we also see how it becomes an opportunity to get back into the swing of things enlisting in this cause and distracting from her emotional state at the time.  All of it is presented pretty subtly with direct dialogue with of course strong performances to back it up. 

For their collaboration in both bringing this story to light AND to the big screen, Jody Kantor, Megan Twohey and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz are your MVP’s.

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5

If you’re sucker for a good investigative journalism drama, then this is a high recommend – it is also definitely one of the best films of the year.

Now Playing in Theaters

And that ends another INQUIRING review!