She Said
There’s plenty of irony to go around that Brad Pitt is one of the producers of “She Said” through his Plan B company given that, even though he heard of abuse from both Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, he worked with Harvey Weinstein multiple times over the years, and is accused of abuse himself by Jolie. Those are important for context in regards to “She Said,” and how Weinstein was enabled as he continued to abuse women, but they have no bearing on the movie itself, which is as rich a journalistic drama as we’ve seen, as two women work to tell the stories of many, and bring down a notorious sexual predator, and one of the most powerful people in Hollywood.
One of the strongest details in “She Said” is how the film shows the work-life balance Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) have to balance as they work on this story. The film begins in late 2016, as Twohey is working with a woman who accuses then-candidate Donald Trump of sexual assault. The article does not have the desired effect- Trump is elected, and both the woman and Twohey find themselves the victims of targeted harassment. This is the climate in which Jodi, a mother of two, begins her look at sexual harassment in the workplace, focusing on Hollywood, and eventually, Harvey Weinstein, the powerful indie mega-producer who turned Miramax, and later, The Weinstein Company into Oscar magnets over the years. Eventually, Twohey- back from maternity leave after the birth of her first child- joins Jodi on the story, and we follow the meetings, the phone calls, and eventually, the struggle to get someone on the record as they try to write a story that could have an impact. At the same time, how they work around their families is an important part of their journey in this story.
The film begins, actually, in 1992, when a young Laura O’Connor is on the beach, and stumbles on a film set. She becomes a runner for the crew, but we later see her running away, down the street, with tears in her eyes. Instinctively, we know what happened because we know what the film’s subject is. Later, we will find out through her own voice as she talks to Jodi. She is one of many Jodi and Megan talk to- they also talk to Ashley Judd, Rose McGowen (though she is voiced by Keilly McQuail), Zelda Perkins (Samantha Morton), Rowena Chiu (Angela Yeoh) and others. The problem is, nobody will go on the record. Some of them signed NDAs, and some are hopeless to think this will do any good whatsoever. But Jodi and Megan continue to try, even as Ronan Farrow at The New Yorker starts his own investigation into Weinstein. One of the things I appreciate about “She Said,” however, is that this doesn’t become a race to beat the clock newspaper film; like “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight,” this film is about getting the full story, methodically, even if it involves coming back to people time and again, wearing them down, or even just waiting for them to decide to tell their story. When people decide to go on the record, we feel the sense of relief the characters feel. That only comes when the film immerses us fully in its narrative.
When it comes to a story like this one, the reporters need the full support of their editors and bosses at the paper. From jump street, Megan and Jodi do- Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher) give them as much latitude as they need to do their jobs. At the time, The New York Times was coming off of the Bill O’Reilly story, which got him kicked off the air as advertisers fled his show. Even in the best-case scenario, it’s hard to imagine thinking the Weinstein story could have had any impact at all. Even as a casual observer of the industry, Weinstein’s behavior was an open secret for decades, and yet, nothing happened because the Oscars, and money, kept coming. The screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz gives us a sense of how Weinstein held on to his power for so long, and even made it impossible for actors like Ashley Judd to find work when they rebuffed him. We get a sense of all of the excuses people make for the Harvey Weinstein’s of the world when some of the men Megan and Jodi interview speak- Why didn’t they come forward at the time? Maybe they just wanted to be with a powerful producer?- and it all rings hallow. The way Lenkiewicz and director Maria Schrader gives us enough information to imagine what we’re hearing about leaves us chilled to the bone much more than if they tried to dramatize it, which would have been the wrong approach for this. In one moment, we hear a recording made of an encounter with Harvey one of his victims had- the police had her wear a wire in hopes of prosecuting him- how Schrader stages that is one of the most haunting moments we’ve seen in a film this year, and all we are doing is hearing the audio, and looking at hotel hallways. That’s enough, and is a brilliant use of economical storytelling to create an impact.
As Jodi and Megan, Kazan and Mulligan are superb. We see the toll this story, these stories, have on them through their eyes as they interact with these women, and try to get as much from them as they can. This is personal for them, and there’s two moments with Jodi, in particular, that I love. In one, she has to think on her feet as a parent when one of the women calls her when she’s at home, and she has to get her daughter out of the room quick, and another has her on Skype with her daughter, and she has to have a difficult conversation with her she hoped to shield her from for a few more years. Moments like this really give us insight into the character that goes beyond their determination at their job, and it’s what we take away from the film more than their determination with the story. Megan has similar moments, some when she is looking at her newborn that are lovely, and then, in her talk with a woman just outside her home. She understands intuitively what this woman is struggling with, and we can feel the empathy from her throughout the scene. These are great performances, and we are with them every step of the way.
#MeToo has had mixed results over the years since the Weinstein story broke. On the one hand, it inspired millions of men and women to come forward with their own stories, but on the other hand, the system that shielded Weinstein and others for so long continues to be broken, as more abusers continue to work steadily, or find their ways back into their industries. That’s where “She Said” remains a vital (and relevant) film- to remind us that while yes, Harvey Weinstein went down, several others have not. Reporters can only do so much by telling the story; if their work isn’t followed up by action, more Harvey Weinsteins will stay protected. Some of them even find ways to shield themselves behind perceived activism…like producing a film like “She Said.”
