“She Said”
Movie Review
Director Maria Schrader
brings to life the novel by Kantor and Twohey, revealing the process of
bringing down powerful men who abuse their power. The #MeToo movement emerged
widely in the media in 2017 with sexual allegations against Hollywood producer
Harvey Weinstein. The revelation of their novel reveals decades of abuse at the
hands of a once pagan filmmaker. With such a profound shift in tolerance of
abusive workplace cultures and the expectation to stand up to such atrocities,
it is no surprise that this genius story has made it to the big screen.
"She Said" tells an important story well, but the unreasonably long
run struggles to maintain its intended credibility.
Throughout her feature,
director Schrader makes a valiant effort to showcase the soul-crushing effort she
has made to unfold this relentless and life-changing story. As the story
follows prominent journalist Kantor, played by Zoe Kazan, and Twohey, played by
Carey Mulligan, viewers see that their lives never stop for the story and vice
versa. Both women have families, with young children who need their attention,
which contributes to the feeling that life goes on. The film does a great job
of not interfering with the rest. Ultimately, their perseverance and relentless
pursuit of truth are inspiring to help victims get the justice they need.
Despite these successful
aspects of the story, She Said struggles with pacing issues. The first action
takes a long time to find its footing, with journalists quickly switching
between the sexual assault cases they work on. Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz
may have a way of emphasizing how pervasive these issues are, but a limited
first act could have put the film on the right track. This, in addition to
spending too much time on details, contributes to a long run that fails to
capture the effect established by interactions with the various characters
portraying Weinstein's many victims. Regardless, it is easy to recognize the
importance of such details.
What's most ironic about
what She Said is that, at times, the film feels like a giant pat on the back
for doing something about Hollywood's predatory problem. Frequent name-drops
and guest appearances by great actresses skewer it in that direction.
Fortunately, Lenkiewicz's screenplay spends as much time with its lesser-known
victims as its stars, adding a much-needed dose of honesty. However, in the
grand scheme of things, there are still abusers out there in Hollywood, and
they are just as successful with their previous projects long after being
exposed for their mistakes. For this, it is often difficult to take the film
seriously, knowing that it is just another Hollywood production.
However, one of the film's
most powerful elements is the sensibility with which it shapes the story,
despite the film's spirit of conflicting assessments. Going into this film,
empathy is probably a core emotion already experienced by the audience. But
after detailed conversations between journalists and several women, follow-up
responses may have been one of disgust for the perpetrator and outright
compassion for the victim. There isn't a moment in these debates where Mulligan
and Kazan don't give a great performance. They are solid and believable while
maintaining the intriguing and always powerful elements of the story.
As a testament to the power
of investigative journalism, She Said highlights the courage of survivors and
witnesses who are ready to come forward to stop a serial predator from
continuing. Her honesty and dedication to bringing this story forward have
fueled the #MeToo movement in Hollywood and around the world. While "She
Said" goes beyond its reception, sharing women's experiences takes time,
and is quite impressive. It is enough for a moment to shrug off a growing
disdain for an industry that still has these problems today.
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