She Said follows in the vein of Spotlight and All the President's Men, focusing on the journalists who published a story that shook our culture, not the those involved, not the perpetrators, not the victims, not the prosecutors, the story tellers. It focuses on how the stories are identified, the barriers to telling that story are overcome, and how deeply the stories are buried by a world dead set against these stories coming to light. These films are structured like traditional hero stories, and perhaps in this age when the media is being so vilified a narrative like this is important to remind us why journalists remain an essential element of democracy and justice and why these stories need to be told. And undeniably there is heroism in that.
She Said is the story of the story breaking about Harvey Weinstein, but wider the story of the system that is set up to protect powerful predators like Weinstein. The film reminds us of this a number of times, Hollywood being the setting for one set of insular powerful men who are routinely protected from responsibility for the harm they cause with Weinstein being the poster boy. It is perhaps a safer story to tell than perhaps other stories, ones that involve more beloved predators, because of how (rightly) reviled Weinstein has become. But the film stops at the brief moment of success. We know that even in that time, the system these journalists worked to start to dismantle remains firmly in place and that sexual harassment and abuse have not been eradicated and that despite all the sacrifices the women this story follows have made to protect their daughters the future remains risky for those with less power. Time I guess hasn't been up after all.
That doesn't stop this story from being important or from having a role to play in bringing about change. But perhaps this film could have acknowledged some of that more. There are legitimate criticisms of the New York Times specifically that this film sweeps under the rug. But She Said is focused on this aspect of this story and celebrating that the story could even be told, which is truly something worth celebrating. I guess I just didn't get swept up in the triumph this film is building to, feeling perhaps a little disappointed in all that has come along since. Perhaps that's unfair and celebrating victories when they happen remains important. But the film's arc is perhaps a little too willing to ignore all that hasn't changed and all that remains to be done.
Director Schrader uses a very linear and straightforward approach to telling the story which works well and serves the narrative effectively. There are a lot of moving pieces here which the film's directness helps the audience navigate. We can see it all come together even for those of us who aren't journalists or maybe don't have the experience with these systems that the subjects do. Schrader allows the power of her story to affect us instead of trying to force us into emotions and this is a very effective choice. Her leads, Mulligan and Kazan, are also allowed to give strong but understated performances instead of having too many "Oscar moments." She Said despite some of its heavy subject matter, remains an incredibly watchable movie that yet still shakes you by the time the credits role.
So despite its blind spots, She Said manages to be both important to watch and accessible as well. A strong showing by all involved and perhaps a reminder of how much remains to be done.
She Said
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Sean Cullen, Ashley Judd
Director: Maria Schrader
Writer: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
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