THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The truth is the most important thing in the world to share because if not, no one will be brave enough to do it.
PLOT
Based on the titular 2019 novel, She Said takes place in 2017 and follows New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey investigate a tip from actress Rose McGowan (Kelly McQuail) that she was sexually assaulted by producer Harvey Weinstein (Mike Houston). Initially, she declined to comment, but would later confess to she was raped by Weinstein when she was 23. Ashley Judd & Gwyneth Paltrow also confessed of having uncomfortable encounters with him as well, but refuse to go on record to avoid a career blowback. With that work done by Jodi, Megan would reach out to a former Miramax assistant that disappeared. That same woman had declined to speak due to previously signing an NDA. Jodi would confront former Miramax CEO John Schmidt (John Mazurek) who handled settlement payouts towards Weinstein's past accusers but he doesn't divulge in any information of it. Megan would also get rejected by the EEOC after requesting more info about the payouts. When she contacts a former DA office member, she discovers that Weinstein has social connections to the DA office which explains why past criminal complaints have dropped so quickly. Jodi would then get a tip of three former assistants that were also abused by him: Rowena Chiu, Zelda Perkins & Laura Madden. Originallly, Chiu is unable to reach, but Perkins recalls an incident in which she had a breakdown after her encounter. Madden would agree to speak up after a representative of Weinstein's of would reach out to discourage her from doing so. Harvey himself would learn of the investigation and would send a lawyer to try appeasing reporters, but would deny his wrongdoings except past financial settlements. After this, Jodi would get an anonymous tip from a former accountant of Harvey's named Irwin Reiter, who would show a 2015 internal memo from Miramax that detailed abuse allegations from another former employee. With this information, The New York Times would notify the board of The Weinstein Company of their impending article and ask for a statement. What happens instead is Harvey continuing to deny the allegations, demanding the sources and threatening to talk to other publications to discredit the story. What he would do after this would be an actual statement acknowledging he caused pain to others in the past, thus announcing a leave of absence from The Weinstein Company. With that happening, Jodi & Megan would try convincing past sources to go on record, but most of them decline. The exceptions would end up being Judd and Madden. The film would end in an epilogue, revealing that after the story was published in 2017, 82 more women spoke up against Weinstein. Not only did it lead to workplace & legal reforms, but the producer would serve a prison sentence for his crimes of rape and sexual assault.
THOUGHTS
For someone who remembered how shocking it was seeing the news and reading the headlines of what led to the downfall of Harvey Weinstein, I was in shock like the rest of the world. Knowing what an impactful moment this was in the entertainment industry, it was a matter of time for it to be told onscreen. And since it took a year after the death of Osama Bin Laden to adapt Zero Dark Thirty, I was surprised we waited a little longer for this adaptation to be produced. Nevertheless, I believe it was worth the wait as I was blown away of the final product. Director Maria Schrader and writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz were able to pull off a difficult feat in sharing something so personal and arguably make it triumphant. I want to call it surprising how corrupted the entertainment industry can be, but I'm really not when remembering it's organized by powerful people who can allow or take part in such heinous actions. Like Promising Young Woman, it's a firm example of the scum of men taking poor use of their advantages, that is becoming slimy humans in the process. Harvey was one of many who chose to act such and deserves every bit of punishment that came his way. Seeing him and past disgraces like Roger Ailes get taken down seal the deal in spreading the message that not everyone in untouchable. There will be a loophole they cannot reach because it doesn't exist. There is no such thing as unlimited power because eventually, luck runs out for everyone no matter how controlling one can be. Aware of this, it is important to speak the truth or else no one will ever listen. And when you choose to do so, you inspire others to do the same. It was incredible having Ashley Judd & Gwyneth Paltrow involved to express how afraid they were of such trauma they had buried and were willing to comfortably speak up. I believe the same can be said for everyone else that were able to speak up after they did because they accepted only they were able to tell the truth. Particularly, I was moved with the performances of the actresses who played the other victims. Samantha Morton's Zelda, Jennifer Ehle's Laura and Angela Yeoh's Rowena were straight up phenomenal in showing their vulnerability and fear of trauma to return like a whiplash. All these women wanted were to enjoy themselves in a business that is meant to satisfy people, only to have been broken within more than they were on the outside. They never deserved any of that to happen, which is why it is logical to feel bad for them all. Having said that and knowing how cornered they were, it's a true victory when they regained their courage to share the truth. Of course, they would never have been able to pull it off without the unlikely heroes who encouraged them to do so. The pair of Carey Mulligan's Megan & Zoe Kazan's Jodi were the greatest strength of this movie due to pure the pure determination they share in doing the right thing. If they didn't pursue this story, then more women would've went through such undeserving pain. There was no way they would let that happen, hence becoming rightfully relentless in ensuring the truth gets out. Lucky for them, they had the best bosses that allowed this story to go through. Andre Braugher's Dean Baquet and Patricia Clarkson's Rebecca Corbet were great to see onscreen as well for further expressing how you can't let barriers stop you from doing what has to be done. If someone is building a wall, climb over it and prove you're not afraid. Neither of them were afraid of what Harvey could've done and that made them all bigger heroes than one can realize. Had they expressed any concern of his threats, the story likely would've been scrapped and we wouldn't get anywhere. Thankfully, we live in a world where we're doing our best in looking out for each other. In short, She Said is easily one of 2022's most important films to be made for reminding viewers that your voice is important and it is totally worth it when choosing to speak up. If you're feeling vulnerable, use this film as motivation to break free.
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