Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Director Maria Schrader’s She Said is a riveting film that documents the groundbreaking reporting by journalists Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan). Their influential reporting started a movement, helped break decades of silence surrounding sexual assault, changed constitutional laws and more.
She Said focuses on the traumatic stories from survivors of convicted predator Harvey Weinstein. Mainly on the stories that were paramount in Kantor and Twohey breaking the story. Those who followed the story will be familiar with these accounts. However, the Cast and Filmmakers make it feel like we’re hearing them for the first time.
We hear Rose McGowan’s (voiced by Kelly McQuail) account over a phone call and Ashley Judd (who plays herself) videos Kantor to tell her story. Kantor meets Laura Madden (a moving Jennifer Ehle), Zelda Perkins (a show-stopping Samantha Morton) and Rowena Chiu (a heartbreaking Angela Yeoh) in person to hear their stories. There’s also a distressing moment when the recording of Weinstein and Ambra Battilana Gutierrez plays over images of a hotel lobby.
Just as in Kantor and Twohey’s reporting and their book She Said, Schrader and Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz keep the focus on the survivors. Weinstein is rendered invisible, only heard over a speakerphone and only shown the back of him in the newsroom. The camera stays on Megan staring him down. Mulligan’s depiction of this moment is jaw-dropping. Her eyes tell the audience a silent monologue.
When the focus isn’t on the survivors, it’s on the journalists. We get to know the women behind the names that are cemented in history. We see that Megan was a new mom to a daughter and was dealing with postpartum depression when she began working on the story. Mulligan gives a impassioned performance as the pragmatic Megan. Kazan is outstanding as Jodi, juggling raising two daughters and reporting on these harrowing stories. The two give tour-de-force performances as these inspiring journalists.
A Newsroom Drama can get boring quickly because it’s usually people in a room talking. Yet, Schrader makes it engrossing. She does this by showing images and sequences when dialogue is being said. When she does stop the camera to watch the rapport within the newsroom, her formidable Cast are the reason we’re engaged. The other times Schrader keeps the camera still is when she focuses on the women telling their stories. Their stories need to be heard and Schrader makes sure they are.
She Said is essential viewing documenting a significant turning point in modern history. A powerhouse Ensemble and precise direction from Schrader makes for a gripping journey.
Universal Pictures Canada release SHE SAID in theatres Friday, November 18, 2022.
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