She Said (2022) * * *

 

Directed by: Maria Schrader

Starring:  Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Samantha Morton, Jennifer Ehle, Angela Yeoh, Peter Friedman

Months after Donald Trump was elected president despite accusations against him of sexual assault, harassment, and possibly rape, The New York Times began investigating claims from as far back as the 1990's against Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.   Weinstein's behavior towards women was not exactly a secret in Hollywood circles, but since he could destroy careers with the snap of his fingers, who would have the courage to rein him in?  

She Said presents to us not only how New York Times reporters Megan Twohey (Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Kazan) painstakingly put the story together, but how Hollywood (and especially the board of Weinstein's company Miramax) enabled Weinstein's predatory behavior with settlements and non-disclosure agreements.  And lastly how this isn't simply a male thing but a money thing.   Weinstein's movies made money for Miramax and won numerous accolades.  They had no desire to kill the golden goose, even though he was committing crimes against women.  The jarring opening scene of She Said sets the tone:  A young woman in Ireland in 1992 stumbles across a movie set and is soon made part of the crew.  She enjoys her job and it lights her up inside, but soon the movie cuts to a scene in which the woman frantically runs down the street disheveled and frightened.   We don't have to ask what happened.  The monster has struck again.

Weinstein's behavior was only curtailed once the Times published its articles about the decades of his abuse.   The victims were not only terrified to speak out, but were silenced by payouts and NDA's.  Famous actresses like Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose McGowan (whose accusations started the ball rolling) discussed their ordeals with the reporters, but still feared going on the record because they were afraid Weinstein's power and reach.   Megan's and Jodi's editors wanted an iron-clad story before they published.   It wasn't enough to name names.   They needed corroboration.   Like Ben Bradlee in All the President's Men and Marty Baron in Spotlight, editors Rebecca Corbett (Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Braughter) are supportive of their reporters and do not cower in fear of the Weinstein machine.   Some of the movie's best scenes involve Dean having the gall to tell Weinstein and his lawyers what's what without fear of retribution. 

We are treated to the obligatory scenes in which Megan and Jodi are lightly chastised by their husbands and families for not being home enough.   Whether such conversations actually took place is up for debate.  What isn't up for debate is that we've seen these scenes before.   Even with minor quibbles, She Said takes us on a powerful journey which shows us the painful nature of investigative reporting in which dead ends, hostile or intimidated witnesses, rejection, and a paper reluctant to publish without all of its ducks in a row are the norm.   I think Spotlight and All the President's Men are better films, but She Said contains its own moments of power in breaking a story which sprung the #metoo movement.