'She Said' Review: Riveting Journalist Procedural Drama Tackles the Weinstein #MeToo Tale With Care
She Said
She Said
R: Language and descriptions of sexual assault
Runtime: 2 Hours and 08 Minutes
Production Companies: Annapurna Pictures, Plan B Entertainment
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Maria Schrader
Writer: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Ashley Judd
Release Date: November 18, 2022
In Theaters Only
New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation—one that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood.
Remember where you were when Harvey Weinstein was exposed as a sexual predator, triggering the start of the #MeToo movement? Since its inception, one could only wonder how long it would take for the industry to exploit it. The movement came from within Hollywood itself, and what is Hollywood without hypocrisy? I’d argue the exploitation happened during the wave of 2019 blockbusters, such as Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, and Men in Black: International. They blatantly utilize the movement by incorporating unnecessary third-wave feminist girl power energy in scripts crafted by men.
That same year, NY Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor released their book She Said. It was immediately optioned to be adapted into a feature film. With this investigative journalist procedural drama coming right off the heels of the movement, they feared it was too early to proceed with this studio feature. We all know how Hollywood loves to dramatize sensitive subjects.
Tackling the subject matter with ingenuity, She Said is one of the most thoughtful dramas of 2022. Director Maria Schrader hits the ground running, setting the stage during the early rumblings of #MeToo: the 2016 election. Within the first dozen minutes, Schrader contextualizes the difficulties and existential dread that came from being a woman during the cursed Trump era and being a female investigative journalist writing exposés through the lens of Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Kantor (Zoe Kazan). Twohey’s investigative pieces on Trump during his candidacy led to her receiving death threats from Trump stans. When the focus shifts to Weinstein and the case becomes bigger than the two reporters expected, it sends a wavering aura of anxiety.
She Said is a step-by-step investigative journalist procedural in the vein of films like Spotlight and The Post. Unlike those two flicks, She Said is less concerned with emphasizing the drama, taking a grounded approach to the case instead. Steering clear of the Oscar-bait trappings of a self-congratulatory Hollywood movie, Schrader’s direction focuses on the journalists doing their due diligence as reporters. She personalizes the subject's navigation of their investigation with the serviceable shot composition that nails a naturalistic approach. The camera lingers on the subject taking phone interviews or getting personal with interview subjects.
Outside the journalist's realm, Schrader incorporates earnest elements when elaborating on the interviewee’s stories of Harvey with flashbacks. Anyone else would’ve pressed the “exploit” button so quickly to manipulate what were already traumatizing descriptions. Thankfully, Schrader pulls away and showcases former employees who worked at Miramax in their youths in “before and after Harvey” flashbacks. The harrowing voiceover describing the loss of innocence at the hands of Harvey washes over the visuals, though the intense descriptions of their assault are never explicitly visualized. It’s the only form of creative liberty the film’s direction takes, strengthening the theme of unity.
Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz depicts Twohey and Kantor as ordinary people. That’s what keeps the audience glued to their case. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan deliver down-to-earth central performances that keep you thoroughly invested in their journey. They embody the occupation they portray well. The professional camaraderie and rapport they share through the investigation are all-natural, especially in their interactions. I have to give props to Mulligan, who is given more material than Kazan as the growing weight of the case slowly infuriates her. I love how Mulligan and Kazan maintain journalistic integrity as they express a humanistic amount of care with how an interviewee reacts, getting triggered by their past trauma whenever Weinstein’s name comes up. I’ve never seen this kind of human complexity exhibited by journalists in film.
The supporting cast has an amazing rapport with each other. Andre Braugher is underutilized but makes a strong impression as NYT executive editor Dean Baquet. The same applies to Patricia Clarkson as a calm and logical-headed NYT editor Rebecca Corbett. While the film avoids being a masterclass in acting, it’s not true for Samantha Morton, who appears in one scene and got her money’s worth. She nabs the spotlight from everyone in one go, keeping you in a chokehold with her line delivery and stone-cold fury. Anne got an Oscar nomination for 15 minutes of screen time. Morton says, “Watch me do it in five.” She came, served documents, and dipped.
The quality of Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s screenplay varies. It soars when hitting the beats of an effective slow-burn journalistic procedural grounded in reality and thoughtfulness. However, some of the dialogue reaches NBC primetime television levels. Sometimes the script fails to resemble actual conversions between two parties and becomes faux trailer moments with fluent scenes.
The story tries to incorporate the everyday lives of Twohey and Kantor outside the NYT office. It’s useless and doesn’t add much to the story since their daily lives are not enticing. It’s good that these well-paid journalists have stability, but that’s not what audiences are here to see. Their home lives are used as a bridge to separate one interview scene from another to better the pacing even though it subsequently extends the runtime. The writing can’t help but feel stale when the journalists are with their spouses and kids.
Director Maria Schrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s She Said provides a consistent, thoughtful, and down-to-earth procedural drama that executes urgency without sensationalizing the subject matter of sexual misconduct. With incredible performances by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan carrying the story, this timely look at one of the most shocking turning points in recent Hollywood history is essential cinematic viewing and one of the most powerful films of 2022.
