Movie Review: She Said

Movie Number 40 of 2022

The Movie:  She Said

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 4

After donating blood at lunch time, I was after a something to see which would engage without exciting, to sit and ponder the world while drinking a lot of fluid. 

And She Said fit the bill (I wasn't up for something called The Menu - not up for black comedy today)

This was a good choice. 

This has been on my wish list for a while, mostly due to the cast. Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher are all actors I admire, and the material is of interest to me. This did not disappoint. 

This has been described as the Spotlight and Bombshell of the #MeToo movement. It relates the story of Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), two New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story in 2015.  

This, as we all know now, was no easy feat. The reporters met with every brink wall until finally, they got some traction. Both women had to juggle their lives outside of journalism, both being mothers with young children and families, which the movie uncovers as well. 

Thinking back on this, She Said, this does a very good job of looking at the story and the problems these women came up against unravelling the story. 

Cynics might say that this is a film about journalists doing their job, but considering Harvey Weinstein is in jail and will more than likely die in prison for his deeds, and the articles have helped uncover hundreds of thousands of stories being brought to the surface, it's still a good thing. 

Mulligan and Kazan give great performances as Twohey and Kantor. A cameo from Ashley Judd, one of the first accusers to go public is a great touch. Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton, among others, give great support. 

German director, Maria Schrader, provides and even keel to what is a hard hitting story.

Is this as good as Spotlight - a movie I very much admire. Hmm, maybe not, but it's not far off. 

As somebody who followed this story when it broke, this movie shows the truth as it came out. It humanises what it is to break such story of systemic abuse and what needs to be done to break these cycles.

Today's song: