Maria Schrader’s “She Said”

She Said

This is a rock solid, gripping journalist-procedural with stand out performances from Carey Mulligan and Samantha Morton

Though it approaches its subject matter in a format that’s relatively pedestrian, the story itself and some great performances raises its impact. It also broadens the scope giving us visibility of the private lives of the journalists and the long term consequences of Weinstein’s crimes. It’s also a call to action.

The film opens with New York Times journalist Megan Twohey(Carey Mulligan) cracking the sexual misconduct accusations against Donald Trump only to watch as Trump becomes President as she goes on maternity leave. Her colleague Jodi Kantor(Zoe Kazan) starts an investigation into Weinstein but anyone willing to speak isn’t willing to be named (which isn’t surprising considering how long they’ve been ignored) and she seeks assistance from the more seasoned Twohey.

What follows is familiar with most involved being household names. Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow play themselves but what’s more relatable are the unknown people left damaged, their lives knocked off course in Weinstein’s wake.

The dogged determination of Twhohey and Kantor is in itself a source of inspiration to those of us living in a world where truth can be shrugged off and it’s refreshing to see a thoughtful, level-headed view of the world.

Sadly, the film was released to 2000 cinemas in the US and fared badly, but Mark Kermode made a good point in that the similar Spotlight was initially released to only a handful with word of mouth building up momentum before a wider release. To further rub salt into the wound, Weinstein’s PR team have been trying to capitalise on this.

It doesn’t break the mould of the journalist-procedural but it tells an important story and the performances from Carey Mulligan and Samantha Morton are fantastic. Efficient and gripping cinema.