Movie review: “She Said” – They Jail Weinstein

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“She Said” is a feature film about how New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohy worked on the excavation that would become Weinstein’s downfall. The movie is a gripping drama aimed at our disbelief about how difficult and inhuman it is to report sexual harassment.

In the film, Kanton and Twohey are portrayed by Zoe Kazan and Carrey Mulligan, respectively. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, in which a number of women accused him of unwanted sexual behavior, New York Times editors asked the question just how wide the issue was. Why is it so difficult to report? And will it have any kind of effect at all? After all, Trump is still elected president.

Clawed finger

Questions lead journalists to the famous film producer Harvey Weinstein.

For several decades now, there has been talk that the producer behind films like “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient,” and “Good Will Hunting” is a nonstop guy. Could there be any contract on it?

The biggest resistance journalists face is, in a way, from the victims themselves. They’re willing to talk about their encounters with Weinstein off the record, but they don’t dare appear in the press and refuse to say so. Weinstein is an influential producer. One phone call and you’ll be red-listed in Hollywood. Additionally, many of the women signed confidentiality agreements, making it difficult to apply afterwards without prosecution.

Tiger with sharp claws

covered above

In style and tone, the film is reminiscent of the journalist’s film Spotlight. It’s grey, everyday humor and no hipster clothes. The actors do a good job of portraying the members of the press as observant and well-intentioned watchdogs, but above all as people.

One of the first to come forward with the case was actress Ashley Judd, who is also the only one in the film to portray herself. Except for the back of the head of the actor playing Weinstein, it’s nowhere to be seen in the movie. Yet his presence rides the story like a mare for the entire two hours the movie lasts. In interviews with women, on the phone, in conversations with people about Weinstein’s company Miramax, which has long hidden the crimes of its boss. It makes it very easy to empathize with women.

The strongest card

Occasionally, flashbacks are used to enhance the women’s experiences, but they become unnecessary personnel, and contradict the realistic, realistic tone of the film. You also don’t witness a lot of journalistic techniques, that is, how things are going, as you saw, for example, in “Spotlight”.

Østfold’s bloody crime

Most complex cases consist of interviews with dozens of sources, and that could work for a newspaper, but here there are so many names to contend with that you quickly get confused as to who it is.

Anyway, “She Said” is a deep film about a reckless man who gets undressed at the end. And the strongest card in the movie: That’s just right.