“She Said” Review
Carey Mulligan (Left) and Zoe Kazan portray Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor as they investigate the wrongdoings of Harvey Weinstein in “She Said.”
When the New York Times first broke the news of Harvey Weinstein and his crimes against women, it not only shocked the public but also started a global movement against sexual harrassment and assault across all industries. But in a world where Americans are more informed about these issues, it’s hard to remember what it was like before these stories broke. That’s the purpose of “She Said.” To show us the journalists responsible for this Earth-shattering reporting and the hard work that went into exposing Weinstein.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning investigation and subsequent book, which shares the same name as the film, journalists Megan Twohey and Jodie Kantor (Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) begin to hear rumors about rampant sexual abuse towards women in Hollywood. As they begin to pry into this, they discover the terrible truth and must do everything in their power to expose it.
There’s no shortage of good films focused on journalism including the Best Picture nominated “All The President’s Men” and the Best Picture winning “Spotlight.” What all of these films do is not only accurately showcase the job and all of its challenges, but also suck us into what these reporters are writing about. You become so immersed in the interviews, the writing process and the search for the right document that you are on the edge of your seat, despite many of these films being based on well-known cases.
In “She Said,” the suspense doesn’t arise with the outcome, it’s with how Twohey and Kantor are going to make it. Because while the scandals of Harvey Weinstein, the Catholic Church, Richard Nixon, Donald Trump, Roger Ailes, Elizabeth Holmes and numerous other powerful entities remain burned in the public consciousness, the hard work to get the truth out is lost upon many.
Carey Mulligan is one of my favorite modern actors and, in my opinion, was more than deserving of the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in “Promising Young Woman.” In “She Said,” Mulligan is phenomenal as a journalist who has grown increasingly weary by the world around her. Prior to her investigation on Weinstein, Twohey reported on the numerous accusations of sexual assault against then Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Yet he got elected. Despite putting her best effort into the case, Twohey worries whether or not this reporting will make any difference.
As for Kantor, she desperately wants to expose the truth and tracks down many people who know about Weinstein’s activities but are afraid to speak out. The extent of this problem is too deep for one person to uncover. Kazan’s performance is fantastic and truly captures the energy of a great journalist. When she’s talking to someone who’s had a traumatic experience, she asks the right questions and just listens to these people with compassion and attention. Twohey and Kantor need each other and their chemistry keeps you invested in the case from the very beginning. Mulligan and Kazan’s performances make this film engaging from beginning to end with no dull moment.
Kazan and Mulligan’s amazing performances keep “She Said” riveting as the journalists go to great lengths to find the truth.
Unlike “All The President’s Men,” “She Said” focuses quite a bit on the home lives of the journalists and how this case affects it. The thing about journalism is that it's a 24 hour job. As someone who has written for a newspaper, it’s exhausting and kicks the shit out of you. And that’s coming from someone who wrote features and opinion columns for my university’s paper. Imagine being an investigative journalist for the New York Times. It has to be one hundred times more challenging and the film accurately portrays this. Kantor and Twohey get mysterious calls, they have trouble sleeping and they wonder if any real change will occur because of their work.
The realistic tone constantly shines through the direction of Maria Schrader who forgoes any flashy camera work. Instead, the film has basic coverage and keeps the camera on its characters, letting them talk. Investigative journalism isn’t flashy, but it is engrossing. I found that the little details of “She Said” were the most important to me. The late nights of writing and editing, the weariness and the constant dead ends to work around are all shown.
While the film is more focused on its performers, there is still room for incredible shots to carry the story. There’s an amazing shot towards the end that I don’t want to give away but it’s focused on Twohey in a conference room with a few other people who have some problems with the story. Schrader could have had the film cut to anybody and could have placed the camera inside of the room. Instead, the camera is on the outside of the glass room, looking in, and the dialogue’s volume is lowered. All Schrader does is keep the focus on Carey Mulligan and slowly zooms in on her face. Because that look says more than a five page monologue ever could.
We need films like “She Said.” It’s so easy for us to know about the horrible person that Harvey Weinstein was now that the investigation has been published. We now live in a world where many of us care about sexual harrasment but we still have a long way to go in regards to workplace reform. Think about what it was like in 2016 or before where so many women in the entertainment industry were afraid to speak out because they’d be blacklisted and humiliated. And that’s just people in the film industry. As Kantor points out, if this is happening to movie stars, who else is being affected?
“She Said” takes us back in time before any of this was common knowledge and we get to see just how hard it was to tell the stories of these brave women. It’s a fantastic film about journalism which reminds us about the importance of the press and the endurance of truth.
