By Marc S. Sanders
I get high off movies about journalism. All The President’s Men and Spotlight are at the top of this pillar. The main characters seem to be moving a hundred miles per hour even if they are reserved to their cluttered desks and phones, or if they are talking delicately, and slowly, with empathy as they carefully approach a potential, yet frightened source. She Said is a 2022 film about how the New York Times reporters, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor (Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan), exposed the systemic process of sexual harassment and rape that was running rampant through Miramax Films. The accused was always its CEO, Harvey Weinstein.
It’s extraordinary that this film got produced so soon after the MeToo movement and Weinstein’s downfall occurred. All of it seems like it just happened yesterday. In fact, Harvey Weinstein is still going through court procedure and trials for sexual crimes he’s accused of that occurred in London, New York and Los Angeles. There might even be more locations. New developments hit the internet all the time. This guy just never stopped. So, there’s much for the courts to process and try. This was a terrible black eye, not only for Miramax’s reputation (at the time owned by Disney), but on the entire film industry in Hollywood.
She Said explores not only Twohey and Kantor’s relentless pursuit of the truth and various descriptions of Weinstein’s method with young women, but also how corrupt non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) were used. The NDAs contained unreasonable demands for hush money provided. Mandates such as speaking with a therapist or other professionals and close-knit relatives were never allowed lest they suffer consequences. The victims would get paid, but would also be denied of a copy of the contract, and thus Weinstein found a way to allow his constant grooming and sick pleasures of perversion to carry on.
The reporters concluded that these victims had no money or resources to stand up to the kind of bullying and harassing that Weinstein’s power exerted. Quitting or getting fired for fighting for their rights or just refusing his advances left these women out of an industry in which they were trying to elevate their careers. They lacked proof of the occurrences. They had to fight a he said/she said scenario. They were victimized by a man who associated with some of the most powerful people in the world. It happened to known actresses like Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd (who plays herself in the picture). It nearly happened to Gwyneth Paltrow (providing her own voice on the phone) as well. Even worse, it happened to women who didn’t even have the luster of celebrity brand name recognition to help them in their cause. Nevertheless, it practically destroyed McGowan’s reputation in Hollywood altogether as she was labeled a crazed pariah for declaring her truth. The tolerance and strategic payoffs were perhaps just as overwhelming as the attacks by Harvey Weinstein. (Forgive me, I say perhaps because there is no way I am qualified to empathize, measure, or relate to what these victims endured or continue to survive through.)
Maria Schrader’s film does a good job at explaining the risks these reporters take. A brief prologue shows Megan Twohey getting death threat calls for her write up of Donald Trump’s accusations of sex crimes. A very convincing Trump vocal impersonator even calls her to tell her she’s a disgusting human being and how he must be innocent simply because he does not know any of these women. Reader, it bears repeating that many rapists and harassers never know their victims. When Twohey teams up with Kantor, the intimidations don’t stop and their supervisors and editors in chief (Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher) lend support.
Paltrow’s ex-boyfriend, Brad Pitt, was a producer on this film and it’s gratifying to see him lend the support. I recall reading how he confronted Weinstein following attempts of harassment upon Paltrow shortly after they began dating and making the film Seven together. Looking back to those years of the mid-1990s, I’d argue that Pitt and Paltrow were taking enormous risks with their careers. They were just becoming marquee names. Yet, they could have still been ruined within the industry. This is an environment synonymous with putting blinders on to systemic offenses that occur while lending praise to those that’ll eventually grant them potential Oscar winning roles or twenty-million-dollar paychecks.
When Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, George Clooney, and Quentin Tarantino say in interviews that I’ve seen that they had no idea what was occurring with Harvey behind closed doors, my reaction has always been skeptical to these claims. At one point in this film, Twohey and Kantor refer to Harvey’s antics as the worst kept secret in Hollywood. It is sad to say that these marquee names will always owe their careers and success to Harvey Weinstein, criminal rapist or not.
I do have some reservations with She Said, though. Often the reporters are typing and quick close ups or glances at their monitors are edited into the film, but I can’t read what they are documenting, and I believe the film was assuming I could. At one point, Braugher’s character announces that Weinstein spoke to Variety magazine and another competitor to share his side of the story and declares “This is bad.” Yet, we never find out what Weinstein said, and we just get the “Oh shit!” expression from Twohey and Kantor. Why leave us in the dark on subjects like this? Why is this so bad?
The film is fast paced, but many of the scenes are identical to prior ones. As the reporters speak with victims, they break down their own story. I believe Weinstein practiced a similar method each time, but the dialogue in these accounts seems redundant. I get that we are to understand how excessive his predatory actions were, but I was hoping for fresh angles to their ongoing investigation.
The cast is spectacular, particularly Mulligan and Kazan who make a great pair. I really like the dialogue written and delivered by Andre Braugher. I always thought I don’t see that actor enough in films. He’s sensational in everything he does, and he carries a real strength to his authority in the New York Times offices. A championing moment occurs when he cuts in on Harvey’s call with the reporters to give an ultimatum and hangs up. He just told Harvey, “ENOUGH ALREADY!”
She Said relies on prior knowledge that you must have before watching the film. You must know who Harvey Weinstein was and the large space he occupied within Hollywood and the film industry. You need to know who these actresses were, and you have to be familiar with the overwhelming female response to Donald Trump’s agendas which set up the picture. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s hard not to be aware of what’s occurred in the last 5-6 years.
However, as this film is discovered by future generations, long after Weinstein and Trump, and these victims are passed on, future generations like our children’s children may not fully understand the terrible conspiracies that transpired.
She Said is a good movie and it holds significant importance. However, I imagine the book written by Twohey and Kantor provides more details and exposition that I wish the film adaptation offered. The pace and performance of the picture work very well. I’m just afraid the script relies a little too much on assuming we know the whole backstory as the film carries on to its triumphant ending.
Watch it anyway, though. It’s a bravely daring film to say the least.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 