She Said 2022
There are some great movies about newspaper reporting. All the President’s Men and Spotlight are two of my favorites. This movie isn’t quite as good as those two, but still has a lot to like. It is about two reporters at the New York Times who are trying to put together a story about sexual harrassment and assault by Harvey Weinstein at Miramax Films. He engaged in this horrible behavior for decades and it was widely rumored, but there was never anything really definitive. I remember Courtney Love making waves by saying her best advice to young women in Hollywood was if Harvey Weinstein invited you to a hotel room for a private party, don’t go. That was in 2005 and she wouldn’t get to make another feature movie until 2018. This movie takes place in 2017, though most of it was about things that happened in the 90’s. The movie focuses less on research and detective work and more on getting very reluctant people with knowledge of what was going on to actually talk to reporters or go on the record. As such, it maybe doesn’t quite pack the wallop I would want. Plus for some reason it spends a significant amount of time focusing on the home life of the two reporters, which is humanizing, but detracts from the story. The movie also gets a little coy, showing the actual Ashley Judd playing her part, but Gwyneth Paltrow is talked about, interviewed, and never seen. Even Weinstein (played by an actor) is only seen from the back towards the end of the movie. Some of the lines are a little wooden, but it isn’t always easy dialogue. The two reporters have three bosses whose roles aren’t entirely clear, including the always good Andre Braugher and Patricia Clarkson. I feel like it would work better with just one boss (no doubt there were that many bosses or more). It’s still a good movie and shows how complicated reporting can be when sources don’t want to be quoted, but I can only give it a low A-.
Written: 22 Nov 2022
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital