Mark Reviews Movies: SHE SAID

She Said, Universal Pictures

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Review by Mark Dujsik | November 17, 2022

There's little doubt or denying that the story of She Said needs to be told. In the form in which this narrative exists, though, it already has been told. In celebrating the work of two intrepid journalists who helped to uncover the decades-long abuses of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, this movie keeps just enough distance from the victims and the systems that protected this man to make us question if the narrative's approach is the right one.

That's not to say Rebecca Lenkiewicz's screenplay doesn't give voice to those who were abused or attempt to dissect the business and legal webs that allowed these crimes to continue for so long. It's simply that this story is more about the process of investigation than the personal pain or the systematic corruption that's at the awful core of this reality.

Lenkiewicz and director Maria Schrader take their cues from the New York Times investigation into the multiple, international crimes, both alleged and proven in court, of Harvey Weinstein against dozens of women. It's also based on the book written by the two reporters who did most of the legwork and wrote the article that broke news of the crimes, began the dive into the wider scandal, and helped to start a movement of women publicly speaking of their own experiences of harassment and sexual abuse in the workplace and beyond. Again, this story needs to be told and remembered, if only because social progress does not move of its own accord. People tell stories that create movements, which help inspire real change.

Because the focus here is so narrow, there's little sense of that bigger picture. To be sure, Lenkiewicz suggests it from the start, with a prologue that sees Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan), a Times journalist, investigating claims of non-consensual physical contact with the man running for President in 2016. Her reporting is successful in one regard—that such claims make the newspaper of record before the election. It's not, though, in that we see one accuser receive human feces in the mail and Megan get a death threat on her cellphone—not to mention that the accused man ended up being elected to that highest office in the country.

The other central protagonist here is Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), another reporter for the paper. Five months after the election, she becomes curious of public statements made by actor Rose McGowan, who—like most of the more famous people spoken of and about in the movie—is seen in only in archival footage or photos and heard by way of vocal impersonations. On social media, the actress says a powerful Hollywood producer sexually assaulted her. In the aftermath of the election and a cable news scandal, Jodi decides to look into the actor's allegations. Returning from maternity leave, Megan joins the effort.

These two characters mostly exist as witnesses to and listeners of pain, trauma, uncertainty, and fear, although we see Megan become more infuriated by and learn to keep her cool in the face of behavior, while Jodi tries to balance a marriage and raising two daughters. Both Mulligan and especially Kazan bring distinct varieties of empathy to these roles, but for the most part, our protagonists have no story to tell except for the ones that others tell them. Even thogh they're in the middle of it all, the two are mostly passive, beyond asking questions and waiting for responses.

The real story here comes from a variety of supporting characters or ones with single but noteworthy appearances in the movie. It's their stories that matter, whether they're willing to tell them—such as during Samantha Morton's impressive scene of testimonial as Zelda Perkins—or they're too afraid of potential ramifications to do so.

Most fall in that latter category, and the way the movie talks around or, by way of those impersonations, speaks for the more famous women is a bit discomforting. That's especially true when Ashley Judd appears as herself to tell her story to Jodi, because the movie is making some kind of statement by these absences, either directly or indirectly and to a meaning that could be interpreted in multiple ways.

The most significant character in the latter category is Laura Madden, played by Jennifer Ehle with admirable bluntness. The character wants nothing to do with the investigation, if only because she has moved on from her experiences with and knowledge of Weinstein, but all of that changes with a kind of righteous stubbornness when the producer's people try to bribe her into silence.

There are few more stories, with some men who don't like Weinstein but aren't aware of the extent of his criminal behavior also playing a part. The real narrative here, though, keeps them in the background, as background for the journalists' investigation, as Megan and Jodi piece together the puzzle of what Weinstein did and how he was able to do so for so long. She Said is a noble effort to give voice to those who cannot or, for whatever reasons, will not speak about such crimes and corruption, in the hope that more will feel encouraged to do so. In making this story less about the voices and more about the people giving them a platform, it's one layer removed from being fully honest.

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