The movie industry She Said is going after is the reason “Hollywood Elites” have become such a rallying cry. The Weinstein scandal shows that even an industry like the movies that presents itself to be “progressive,” “woke,” or “forward thinking” can hide within itself a machine of pervasive power that takes advantage of people, especially women. Well, thanks to the relentless work of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and the bravery of women like Ashley Judd, Laura Madden and Zelda Perkins, Harvey Weinstein is out, making it easier for women terrified to come forward to know that justice can be achieved one day, and that what happened to them wasn’t their fault.
She Said starts in 2016, with New York Times journalist Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) helping expose Donald Trump’s sexual assault impropriety during the presidential campaign…only to be met with death threats and relentless hatred from Trump supporters like Bill O’Reilly. Months later, Twohey is on maternity leave having her first child, while Bill O’Reilly gets booted from Fox News for his sexual misconduct. Enter Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) whom New York Times management Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher) send to investigate other systemic pervasive abuse in other industries. Kantor starts investigating Weinstein when Rose McGowan’s story hits the news cycle, sending Jodi and Megan (back from maternity leave) on the journalistic hunt to expose Harvey Weinstein for being a rapist and his company Miramax for covering it up for years, maybe decades.
Hollywood self-congratulating itself with this movie aside, She Said is a fantastic movie about investigative journalism, standing alongside the best in the business like Spotlight. The Trump revelations provide a great starting point: we see the consequences when justice isn’t served, as the brave women who came forward during the presidential race became pariahs and ostracized, or constantly bereded by defenders of powerful men. From there, Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s script makes clear how difficult it will be to bring Harvey Weinstein to justice, because all the societal levers of power gag any of his victims from speaking out, for fear of losing their jobs, their safety, and eventually their life. Kantor and Twohey become more and more frustrated because all these women want to talk, but clearly cannot, so they have to speak in coded language to push the Times reporters in the right direction. Weinstein’s tentacles of power have Kantor and Twohey followed everywhere they go, as Harvey’s defenders pester and bother the reporters to prevent them from executing their jobs. On top of that, other news organizations and actors’ book tours threaten to print their own versions of this story, undercutting all the work these two have done to try to stop the bigger systemic problems at play in Hollywood. At times She Said feels like a mystery, at times a thriller, at times a dark comedy; director Maria Schrader gives each journalistic pursuit a different tone and energy to keep the audience engaged and the story constantly evolving and changing like any great movie should.
And most importantly, She Said gives all of these women chances to make their voice heard. Not just in print: a real voice this time. The sheer number of tales are heartbreaking to witness. All of the assaults start in a similar matter thanks to that monster (the movie plays a truly harrowing tape of Ambra Gutierrez’s Weinstein’s attempted sexual assault). After that, each woman processes the trauma in their own personal way, giving the audience a lesson in the many ways people cope with PTSD. Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle) chooses to move on, and bury her feelings until life circumstances change her mind. An incredible Zelda Perkins (featuring an also incredible Samantha Morton) seethes with unresolved rage, waiting for any chance she could have to strike back at her abuser. And poor, robotic Rowena Chiu (Angela Yeoh) almost committed suicide because she internalized the victim/failure Weinstein put upon her after her rape. Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey get to show two sides to this as well: Kazan portrays Kantor as the sympathetic ear, always putting on a straight face but when alone letting out all those feelings she wanted to feel in the moment. Carey Mulligan is the standout here. I wasn’t a huge fan of her work for a while, but she’s grown in my estimation since Mudbound, acting the hell out of the sheer stress Twohey finds herself under and dealing with it in all sorts of understandable humanity. There’s a scene in a conference room where Mulligan says everything with the most determined, scary look into the abyss of evil, ready to take it on at all costs, that roused and shook me in equal measure.
She Said is a potent reminder. It reminds everyone that justice can be served if you care enough. It’s also a reminder that abusers in power remain in power because of a system they run, and going after the system is the only way to prevent that abuse from happening again. My sincerest thanks to Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor of the New York Times, making lives safer for women everywhere, consequences be damned. And to all those brave, hurt women afraid to come forward, just remember, you’re not alone, and there are good people out there ready and willing to listen to what you have to say, when you’re ready to say it, or just ready to comfort you in your time of need.