332. She Said; movie review

 

SHE SAID

Cert 15

128 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence references, sexual threat, strong language

What will happen when all the newspapers have closed and journalism is no longer a career that young people want to pursue?

I mused about this as I watched Maria Schrader's brilliant She Said, based on the investigation into the sex crimes of Harvey Weinstein.

The tenacity of New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) was the undoing of a powerful movie producer who had thrown himself at unwilling women for decades.

The reporters' work sparked the beginning of the #metoo movement across the globe.

She Said is an adaptation of their book which chronicles their pursuit of a story which began with rumours about the terrible behaviour of the Hollywood mogul.

It shows the difficulties in presenting a case against him because his victims were so fearful of the exposure backfiring on them.

The setbacks are many but I was taken by the support the reporters received from their management at the New York Times.

Patricia Clarkson plays their boss, Rebecca Corbett who the women credit with being equally important in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Andre Braugher is the calm, no-nonsense executive editor Dean Baquet.

This is really a detective story with Kantor and Twohey compiling evidence in the hope that witnesses would go public.

Some of them, including Ashley Judd who plays herself, are famous but many are not.

All fear retribution and have even been threatened, as have the reporters.

But this becomes a movie in which women rightly say they will allow no more. It is executed brilliantly and it made me proud to have been a journalist.

I now fear what the world will look like if professionals such as those at the New York Times are not given the time and money to explore horrors such as those perpetrated by Weinstein.

In the meantime, She Said is a must-see.

Reasons to watch: Just damned important

Reasons to avoid: Upsetting scenes

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 9.5/10

Did you know? Dozens of women had accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in the film industry eventually accused Weinstein of such acts.

The final word. Megan Twohey: "It would be naive for people to think that we, as journalists, could immerse ourselves in the outrageous prevalence of sexual abuse and not feel anger. I just don’t think that’s realistic." Independent

Share this post