She Said reviews

[Sabin]

I’m mixed, leaning negative on She Said. On the surface, it’s a competent, fast-paced, well-acted investigative procedural for adults. And while I have problems with it on a script level, the dialogue is intelligent and believable. We should have ten of these a year. But I always felt like I was watching a spreadsheet of the noble intentions that got everybody jazzed in the pitch meeting rather than a story. I understand that this film isn’t Spotlight but it also courts comparison at every turn. What Spotlight did so well was keep the journalistic process exciting and interesting despite how horrific the crimes were. It might not be a great film but it’s a very effective one for sure. She Said is a film that wants to do twice as much as Spotlight, including Trump, motherhood, postpartum depression, giving the victim’s a voice. All this despite the fact that it's plot is basically interviewing a few victims and waiting for Ashley Judd to go on record. In its best moments, it’s half as effective at Spotlight. In its worst, I found it pretty empty beyond a smattering of good moments here and there and a welcome veneer of intelligence.

Actually, at its worst I found it undermining some of its own agenda. There’s a barely-mentioned subplot involving Ronan Farrow’s competing story. Why does it matter if Farrow breaks the story first? The film gives us no clue. I found The Post to be an unsatisfying film in that ultimately it was a triumph of capitalism. By making the correct marketplace decision, Meryl Streep’s character is rewarded. She Said can’t even come up with a reason (to my memory).

Does this story need to be told? Yes, certainly. But which story? Pick a lane. For me, it’s no question that the most compelling element of the film is the system of enablers. While Carey Mulligan surprised me and Jennifer Ehle was the standout, but the most meaningful performance to the film was Peter Friedman as Lanny Davis. You can see what’s missing from the rest of the film in his performance as a grinning lawyer who doesn’t think of himself as bad person. He’s the real danger. The person who doesn’t realize how corrupt he is. There is no meaningful sense of danger before his arrival in the film. I’ll take it one step farther: I don’t know if you can tell a story about the media’s involvement in the #MeToo movement without indicting the media as well.

There are things to recommend in this film but honestly I don’t blame people for staying away. They may not want a movie about Harvey Weinstein but they deserve a better one.

A couple of additional thoughts:

-I run hot and cold on Carey Mulligan in general. This is one of her better recent works. She has some very good moments and sells postpartum depression in a very affecting way. Also, there’s no way she should be considered supporting. She’s such a dominant presence in this film it feels unsatisfying that she doesn’t take control the narrative by the final act. The film may not want to outwardly present itself as her story but it begins with a prologue where she breaks a Trump sexual assault story during the 2016 election. While I have some problems with those scenes, they present such a clearer sense of danger than anything else that follows to the rest of the film’s detriment. Honestly, I wish the film had the courage to suggest more clearly that some of her actions are retribution for what she experienced during the 2016 campaign. I realize why this film would never go there but as a character journey it makes total sense for her. And it would be a much more interesting film.

- It’s a little thing but I found the choice to cast the guy who plays Trump on SNL as the voice of Trump in this film to be hugely distracting. If you’re not familiar, I’m sure it didn’t bother you. Basically, his take on Trump is that everything he says is rambling bullshit. No train of thought to speak of. Any thought could lead anywhere. It was such a surprising choice that it sucked all the seriousness out of the scene for me. Not a huge deal, but compared to how effectively they suggest Harvey Weinstein on the phone in the later scenes, it’s a disappointment.

[Mister Tee]

It's sad that a solid, absorbing film like this has become so hard to sell to an adult audience. I don't think you can even chalk that up purely to post-pandemic avoidance. Almost 20 years ago, you couldn't talk anyone into seeing Shattered Glass (even though everyone I recommended it to ended up thanking me for pointing them to it). Spotlight and star-studded The Post aside, the journalist-procedural seems a bygone genre.

It's not as if this doesn't have its shortcomings. I thought it started out in wobbly fashion: the opening scenes, of the two reporters going about their marriage/career struggles, didn't feel like they hooked the audience into the story very sharply, and a number of the scenes had a too-perfunctory "this happened/then this happened" quality. Two exceptions: the stoop encounter with the woman from Queens, and the front-lawn scene with the husband of Rowena Chu -- both these scenes were built mostly on body language, and were considerably more powerful as a result. Director Maria Schrader, it turns out, excels in such scenes, and the latter half of the film is dotted with powerful one-on-one encounters. Samantha Morton's scene just raises the film to another level (I have to say, it's so long since I've seen her, I didn't recognize her, but she just blew me away), and Jennifer Ehle's keeps it there. For a little gender parity, I'd also offer praise to Peter Friedman's Lanny Davis -- his second scene, with Mulligan, was also pretty fascinating. And Zach Grenier's restaurant scenes with Kazan also worked well.

I agree with okri, that the "Publish" finale didn't feel like enough -- I could have gone with a fuller denouement -- but that''s my only quibble with the last half of the film.

As for our two protagonists -- I'm not entirely sold on Kazan as an actress, but it may be the role was limiting to her: because she did so much of the grunt work, she had an awful lot of "That sounds awful" or "I'm so sorry" lines to which she didn't bring much dimension. Mulligan did a far better job in filling out her persona. But it's mainly the supporting cast that carries the film.

It's disgraceful that box office failure could keep this film off the best picture board while people are touting Maverick, but that's the sad world we're living in.

[Okri]

It's a solid film. I think the screenplay is quite intelligent and wears enough lightly (the depiction of the marriages, for example) that you don't mind if some of the dialogue is a little too on-the-nose. The performances are great - I'll echo flipp on Jennifer Ehle. Samantha Morton's one scene is searing.

One thing that I find interesting about journalism films is that the publication of the story is the climax of the movie but it doesn't feel like the climax of the story, per se. So they publish, the end. Even All the President's Men suffers a little bit. Spotlight did a good job of focusing on the community and "the work continues" ending (combined with that pre-credits list) packs a punch. I wasn't actually thinking the movie was over now and prepared to sit through more at the cut to black. It definitely moves well.

[flipp525]

Think Mulligan will be nominated/win?

I don’t really see that happening. She’s dependably great in it but it’s really just not that kind of performance. If anyone is nominated, it should be Jennifer Ehle. She might just give too small of a performance but I found her very powerful and her character kind of anchors the bookends of the film.

[Sabin]

Think Mulligan will be nominated/win?

[flipp525]

Strong and tight film in the vein of investigative journalism flicks of the past. This has Spotlight vibes right down to the scenes happening in doorways after cold knocking. The escalating horror about how much Harvey Weinstein has gotten away with is well reflected in the performances of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan who are both very strong. Their characters are professional reporters yet they’re also women and seem to be taking on the role of feminist superheroes in the film’s point of view. Kazan has the slightly bigger role but they really go hand in hand.

Lightly dramatizing the lead-ups and aftermaths of some of the worst of Weinstein’s crimes is an incredibly effective technique, particularly the panning of empty, used hotel rooms. It felt very sordid and added to the mood of the film.

Best in show go to Samantha Morton, Ashley Judd, and, particularly, Jennifer Ehle who is just fantastic. They should be campaigning her for Best Supporting Actress as it’s a very strong performance. Ashley Judd playing herself works so well here as it very much anchors the film in reality. The voice actors playing Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow are superb. Patricia Clarkson is serviceable in the Jason Robards-type role.

[Mister Tee]

One of the last remaining wild cards. Reviews seem respectable.

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