She Said

She Said

New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation — a story that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood.

  • Released: 2022-11-17
  • Runtime: 129 minutes
  • Genre: Drama
  • Stars: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Angela Yeoh, Tom Pelphrey, Adam Shapiro, Maren Heary, Sean Cullen, Anastasia Barzee, Keilly McQuail, Hilary Greer, Tina WongLu, Nancy Ellen Shore, Wesley Holloway, Stephen Dexter, Ruby Thomas, Emma Clare O'Connor, Brad Neilley, Stephanie Heitman, Jason Hewitt, Sujata Eyrick, Justine Colan, Steven Bitterman, Liam Edwards, Norah Feliciano, Kareemeh Odeh, Anita Sabherwal, Kelly Rian Sanson, Lauren Yaffe, George Walsh, Dalya Knapp, Maren Lord, Elle Graham
  • Director: Maria Schrader
 Comments
  • Thebeta99 - 24 March 2024
    Painfully earnest
    I am a woman. I know how important the takedown of Weinstein was. I read all about it at the time. It seems many reviewers are rating the importance of this story. I am rating the film.

    There are "rules" to writing a compelling story. By tracking so closely to a book of non-fiction, this film fails to follow those rules and is therefore unsatisfying.

    1) Too little backstory about the two journalists (or anyone). We see them already working on important stories. Why should we care about them? Or are they simply vessels? If it's the latter, then we shouldn't have seen their home life at all, and we should have learned more about the lives of a few of Weinstein's victims.

    2) There is no conflict. The largest potential conflict - will the NYT print a story on such a powerful man - was resolved instantly. The concern that Ronan Farrow would publish first was also briskly tossed aside. Husbands were 100% available and supportive - an obvious place there could have been conflict, considering both journalists have small children.

    3) There is no discernible climax.

    4) There is no wit. Virtually no humor, as an occasional release valve (I can think of two times, when Twoohey swears in public, which seem to be intended as humor, but both scenes miss the mark for me.) Some will disagree that there should be wit in something this heavy, but think about your favorite dramatic film and I guarantee you'll remember a line that made you laugh through the tears.

    5) There is no subplot, which could have added dimension. Subplots are dangled, teased. Twoohey's pregnancy started out as a subplot, and she might have had postpartum depression, but once that concern is briskly resolved, the baby disappears from the story.

    Another frustration: We have three major female journalist characters and none of them take a moment to relay a personal experience where they felt objectified or harassed. They act as if they had no idea these things really happen. Unfortunately, that is simply not credible. This was a huge missed opportunity to differentiate them from male journalists.

    Mulligan and Kazan do an excellent job with what they are given. They created distinct characters out of whole cloth. I never thought Patricia Clarkson was capable of being dull, but here she is understated to the point of invisibility - a directorial choice, I'm certain. Braugher was treated equally poorly.

    I suspect the filmmakers were wary of accusations that they were exploiting Weinstein's victims, or being hypocrites by making a Hollywood movie about this Hollywood travesty, so they took this low key, movie-of-the-week approach. Perhaps the better choice would be to not make the movie (yet.) News accounts, the original book, documentaries, and podcasts could serve to educate the uninformed until enough time had passed to make a proper dramatic film.
  • Kazs-angel - 9 September 2023
    Absolutely brilliant must watch film!
    This is not the kind of film I would usually watch but I'm so glad I did! Finally, the truth which has haunted, scarred and shaped the lives of so many women, both unknown and well know actresses around the world, some for decades. Definitely a must watch film made even better by the cameo appearances of some of the well known actresses who Harvey Weinstein abused, telling their side of the story. And the bravery of the two New York Time journalists who exposed Harvey Weinstein is astonishing. Hoping the exposing of this kind of sexual abuse will stop it ever happening to other women as well. At least it's a start.