Excellent ‘She Said’ is an important movie about journalism, courage and persistence
Universal
The fight against the patriarchy, and the long-standing structures that created and enabled the pain inflicted by Harvey Weinstein’s many assaults, is hardly over. But the work of New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) was a hell of a punch that’s worth remembering, discussing, and building on, and “She Said,” based on Kantor and Twohey’s book about their investigation, is far from a dull retread of facts, interviews and transgressions that you may know. It’s a crackling intellectual thriller that really understands the essential, difficult work of journalists, and the courage it takes from all sides to bring truth to power.
Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Colette,” “Disobedience”), the film watches as the reporters identify numerous women, from well-known actresses to difficult-to-find former assistants, who have terrible stories to tell about Weinstein but may not want to go on the record for any number of understandable personal and professional reasons. “She Said” is an important “get the work done” movie, tapping into people being very human and also totally badass in pursuing a story, knowing who, what and how to ask, and taking on a mammoth uphill battle.
“She Said” puts faces to real events that led to “Me Too” but hardly a world in which harassment has ceased. Mulligan is particularly great, establishing Twohey’s courage and persistence without overdoing it, and Kazan is subtly effective as well. Neither actress is trying to create a hero, just a great journalist who doesn’t give up and cares and knows what to do and how to do it and that even then nothing is guaranteed. Samantha Morton, Andre Braugher and Jennifer Ehle are very strong in supporting roles as well.
The film draws a line between the misconduct of Weinstein and Trump and tries to reckon with media and public treatment of massively important issues. A few clunky, overly direct lines means “She Said” doesn’t quite compare to something on the level of “Spotlight,” but that’s a high bar to clear.
A-
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