'She Said' Review: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan shine in an extraordinary story about Weinstein's fall
In October 2017, the entire Hollywood was left stunned when multiple women came out and accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and rape. A lot of people know about Ronan Farrow's reporting for The New Yorker and how he managed to expose the entire scandal. However, there were two other reporters who were actually the first ones to break the news of Weinstein's predatory nature and most of the people don't even know their names. If you are one of those, then 'SHE SAID' is a movie that everyone needs to watch.
Based on the 2019 novel of the same name, 'She Said' tells the true story of two New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan), who are working on a story about former producer Harvey Weinstein's predatory behavior. A lot of sources tell them that Weinstein has been doing settlements with his victims and gagging them by saying that they can't tell anything about it to anyone, especially journalists. Twohey faced a lot of difficulties when she covered a high-profile story last time around. She had a conversation with a woman named Rachel Crooks, who told her about the abuse she allegedly experienced at the hands of Donald Trump. Without any guesses, people started to threaten them as soon as the story came out and when Trump won the elections, the women felt terrified in coming forward with their experiences.
RELATED ARTICLES
'Empire of Light' Review: Olivia Colman shines in Sam Mendes' underwhelming ode to cinema
The Banshees of Inisherin' Review: Martin McDonagh's twisted dramedy is one of this year's bestbest
However, when Jody gets a lead on Weinstein and his past behavior, she starts digging up more about it. She wants to go deeper and wants to talk with other women who have faced abuse at the hands of the disgraced producer. She takes Twohey's help in breaking the story and we see these two brave women trying to contact other survivors to make everyone realise how harassment and sexual abuse has been plaguing Hollywood.
It's not easy to come out and speak about the continuous abuse someone has endured for so many years. It gets even tougher if your abuser is a powerful man who can break you or your career.
The best part of the movie is how Maria Schrader shows how theinvestigativeive reporters went to extreme lengths to expose one of the most horrifying cases of workplace abuse and power. 'She Said' never misses the mark and doesn't sensationalize the case in any way possible. It remains sensible, dutiful, and riveting to watch. On the other hand, the extraordinary performances by the cast make this movie a stupendous watch.
We all know how powerful Weinstein was when he was producing movies and was respected by everyone. But 'She Said' made us see how much of an impact he had on everyone, even the law enforcement agencies. His victims were always living in fear and the fear was not just about labeled a 'liar', it was all about facing the wrath of one of the most poweful men in the industry. They were worried about for their life and the lives of all their loved ones.
As far as performances are concerned, Carey Mulligan has once again shown why she is one of the best actors in the world right now and can do any kind of roles. Mulligan is subtle in her approach and never loses her cool, except the moment when a guy was trying to talk to Jody even when she didn't want to. She is phenomenal. Meanwhile, Zoe Kazan as Jody is bloody brilliant. Her performance is raw and nuanced, giving viewers an idea how Jody didn't shy away in taking the hard route to get the truth out.
All other cast members are brilliant as well.
'She Said' is powerful and absorbing in every sense. The movie takes us through a journey about women who werr brave enough to step forward and expose the years of abuse by just one man.
Extraordinary!
