Movie Review: ‘She Said’

Review by James Lindorf

On November 18th Universal Pictures is kicking off Oscar season with the R-rated drama “She Said.” October 5th, 2017, started like any other day. Then an article in The New York Times would lead to the fall of a Hollywood heavyweight and the revitalization of a decade-old phrase that would see millions of women proclaiming Me Too.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) and Zoe Kazan (The Big Sick) star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation. And they have the Pulitzer to prove it. The Academy has a history of loving movies about investigative journalists breaking major stories, with “All the President’s Men” (1976) and “Spotlight” (2015) both taking home the top prize. “She Said” may be the early front-runner for best picture, and no one should be shocked to see one or both Mulligan and Kazan nominated for best actress.

From the energy of the newsroom to the endless emails, phone calls, and miles required to gather information and earn a source’s trust, director Maria Schrader understands the finer points of investigative journalism. When you combine those details with a fantastic cast giving some of the best performances of their careers, you have the recipe for something unique. Instead of beating us with one tragic story after another, Schrader and writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz focus on the journalists. Their failures, successes, home lives, and the emotional toll of their work on the weighty subject.

While “She Said” should get the best picture nomination, there are reasons to expect it to fall short of its lofty goals. Schrader does her best to manufacture energy and tension, but with a 135-minute runtime, it falters. The story and the book about writing the article have been published, Harvey is in prison, and with so much of the film delving into the minutiae of journalism, there isn’t anything here to surprise or shock. Their home lives could have easily been excised from the film to shorten the run time and keep the focus on the investigation. Twohey has postpartum depression, probably because she did in real life, but it has zero effect on the film. Kantor gets consumed with her work, occasionally ignoring her husband, and has a surprising conversation with her daughter, but neither is particularly funny or moving.

Applause has to go to Ashley Judd for not only going on the record in the original report but appearing in the film. She bravely doubles down, ensuring people never forget what Harvey and Hollywood did to her. A strange choice was to have actors portray real-life figures, including Rose McGowan and Donald Trump. Gwyneth Paltrow is repeatedly referenced but does not appear or receive the impersonation treatment. Paltrow should have been excised because she offers nothing to the film, and the rest could have been dialogue between the two reporters. The only thing it provided was many chances for impressive phone acting. The best voice-over work comes when Schrader uses Weinstein’s real voice from a 2015 recording of him coercing model and actor Ambra Battilana Gutierrez to enter his hotel room. It is brutal to hear a real example of his insistance and the manipulation from his position of power over these women.

“She Said” manages to be both powerful and underwhelming. It is a story and movement that should never leave the spotlight, and the acting is tremendous. However, it lacks the flair and flavor of a film that will stand the test of time or screams for repeated watchings. “She Said” earns a 4 out of 5 and could be a trip to the editing bay from being a perfect film.

Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Director: Maria Schrader
Producer: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Writer: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Release Date: November 18th, 2022
Runtime: 2h 15m