She Said

It’s a rarity when an international filmmaker is able to make a transfer from their homeland to an American studio film and still succeed, After high acclaim with last year’s I’m Your Man, German actress-filmmaker Maria Schrader has delivered an extensive effort with her third feature, She Said, a highly engrossing and dramatically satisfying chronicle of the New York Times’ scathing investigation into the extensive sexual abuse scandal and consecutive complicity of Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein that occurred in 2017. Comparisons to Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men and Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight journalistic dramas are unavoidable, as Schrader hits all the marks of a journalistic procedural.The result is engaging and sedulous in execution, perhaps even reaching a catharsis with the end result. While the film hits many of the same beats and suffers a bit on an aesthetic and technical level, it excels with its dramatic momentum and superb cast, most notably a first-rate performance by Carey Mulligan.

It was a story that shook not only the film industry but the entire world, as it inspired many women to come out and speak out against abuse. The investigative reporting by the New York Times was not only the precursor to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, but it also exposed a fabric of systemic misogyny and structural cover-ups within society. So many workplaces have since reformed their HR, and many scandals have been revealed since. Weinstein, who was sentenced to a prison sentence, is still facing countless other charges that await trial. She Said chronicles the origins of the story and what really emboldened the New York Times to embark on the truth.

The film’s script, written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, is based on an investigative article of the same title by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. The film’s ability to capture the victim’s anxiety and hysteria over their trauma elevates it above being just another routine procedural drama. In these specific moments, the film delivers a vivid dramatic effect, with no false notes in the actors’ performances.

Surprisingly, the film begins in the fall of 2016, when Twohey (Mulligan) has gathered a large number of women to go on the record accusing Donald Trump (the GOP Presidential Nominee) of sexual abuse. Twohey takes a phone call from Donald Trump (voiced by James Austin Johnson), who instantly denies the accusations, talks over her with his temper, Once the story is published, Twohey is instantly dismissed as a “feminist” by Bill O’Reilly, and she receives an anonymous phone call threatening violence and sexual assault. Trump wins the election, and all the journalistic hard work Twohey put into the quest for truth feels like it was in vain. Thowey discovers she is pregnant and ends up taking some maternity time off as she struggles with post-partum depression.

The film turns it over to Kantor (Zoe Kazan), who starts the early investigation into Weinstein. This comes on the heels of Kantor’s successful investigation of numerous women who came forward at Fox News, which exposed Bill O’Reilly’s sexual misconduct and resulted in his dismissal. Kantor ends up getting more information about Weinstein’s behavior, dating back to the 1990s, as she speaks with Rose McGowan (voiced by Kelly McQuail), who appears hesitant to put her name on the line, claiming that she has been misled in the past by the New York Times, which also held previous investigations that failed.

Kantor eventually convinces Thowey to return to work after failing interviews and convincing women to come forward in fear of losing their jobs. Both women band together and begin interviewing former Miramax employees, discovering that many of the female employees and actresses on the films have been traumatized by their encounters with Harvey, whose harassment feels routine and mechanical and consists of massages, disrobing himself, masturbating, and, in some cases, rape. Many of the women who tried to leave or move on are blacklisted by the entertainment industry. They are also pressured into signing NDAs, where they will be held legally accountable if they go to the press.

This is the type of system Weinstein has created, and he’s a bully and manipulator. A person who abuses his power and coerces women into senseless acts or who doesn’t believe in human decency or the law Each of the women’s testimonies to Thowey and Kantor is chilling. One of the film’s most harrowing and visually striking moments involves the recording of Ambra Battilana Guiterrez’s encounter with Weinstein at a luxury hotel. Shrader uses slow dolly push-ins of the hallway as we hear the infamous voice recording of Weinstein trying to manipulate her into the hotel room. Schrader carries this on with the film, we hear Harvey Weinstein, but we only see his back and never his face in the scenes he does appear in.

Like other procedural dramas like All the President’s Men, Spotlight, and Zodiac, She Said is a compelling and riveting film. Schrader pays substantial tribute to journalism. The film examines the amount of detail and ethics that go into reporting in order to identify sources. Their investigation leads them to many women, including her former Miramax assistants, who share their unsettling stories. It’s quite a challenge and journey for Thowey and Kantor, attempting to piece their stories together as they are also both moms who have very supportive husbands. Their journey also takes them to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd (who plays herself), as they share their traumas as well.

We never see the assaults through flashbacks; hearing the women recount their ordeal is upsetting enough. The actresses do it with such conviction, especially Judd as herself, and we get more details from Weinstein’s personal assistants Zelda (Samantha Morton) and Laura (Jennifer Ehle), who both reveal the horrendous details of their experiences that deliver an emotional juncture to the story that is undeniably powerful. Patricia Clarkson as Rebecca Corbett, who plays the editor of the stories, is very persistent and believes in the reporting. She urges strong moral support and resources from Dean (Andre Braugher), the executive editor, who puts his own reputation on the line because he knows the stories have credibility and strong evidence. Having him hold exchanges against Harvey’s bullying where he puts him in his place is a highlight in the film.

While there is so much to pull from, the film has enough material that could have easily made a compelling miniseries. Some characters come off more lightly sketched as many scenes felt redundant after a while (how many times do characters just talk over simple two shots and over-the-shoulder shots over coffee, wine, and water?). Schrader’s work might not quite ignite on a visual and technical level, but the script and acting are absorbing enough to sustain a dramatically satisfying drama. In the end, this is a riveting portrait of two determined women banding together to combat powerful corruption, all in hopes that the truth will protect other victims of sexual assault in the near future. She Said ultimately succeeds as a procedural drama with essential relevance and deep principles.

She Said opens in theaters Friday, November 18th.