She Said

source: She Said

Greetings from Lithuania. "She Said" (2022) is a very true story about journalists which wrote the infamous article about Harvey Weinstein, which eventually lead to many changes for a good. This movie plays like a documentary - there is no big character development, nor any conventional plot lines. Its about the even and how one got made. Directing of this movie was very solid - at running time 2 hours i was involved into this story even knowing the outcome very well as the one who actually read the article back in the day. Acting was on spot. Overall, "She Said" is a true and raw account of events. Its not glamorized nor anything similar - this film plays like a documentary and its a very good one in doing that.

I cannot say I was surprised by anything in this movie. It Felt very much like a docu-drama. It felt a little late to the party. It felt very much like 'Spotlight', a movie with its heart in the right place but not really a great piece of drama. On the plus points, it's well made, directed and acted. However, there are several points I have issue with. It concerns itself with the reporters getting the story out there. Surely a more dramatic movie would have been about Weinstein and the actresses and employees themselves. With respect, who cares about two journalists doing, what is after all, their job? Also, it tries to bring in Trump at the start. Why? Politicians from both sides have been paying off accusers for decades. Why make this party political?

A few years ago a female friend of mine casually mentioned that one day when she was twelve and biking around the neighborhood, a grown man made sexually explicit comments to her. This kind of came as a shock to me at first but she didn't even seem phased by it. This encounter came up randomly as part of an everyday conversation we were having and, looking back at it, the most shocking part of the story was my reaction to it. Because now I have fully opened my eyes to the horrors of unwanted sexual comments and actions that women face from a very, very, young age. While watching She Said, I had this passing thought about what the world would be like if Harvey Weinstein was the only one of his kind. If what happened here was the only instance of anything of this sort happening. Not just the abuse of power aspect of it all, but the constant degradation and use of women as objects to fulfill some devious need. Perhaps in that world, there wouldn't be so many people immediately rating movies like this with the lowest score possible because they feel personally offended in some way. What is it about discussing the experience of women that offends men so much? What is it about the patriarchy that rubs off on some women and pushes them to call other women liars at once? She Said is a wonderfully directed film that delves deep into some of the ins and outs of the 'Me Too' movement at its conception. The wonderful work of all journalists, namely Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor is to be complimented to no end. They helped bring forth a much-needed shift in attitude, though unfortunately, some mindsets will never truly change. One of my favorite films of the year and I sure hope more people actually watch it and take it seriously rather than ignore it and hate it for speaking truth to power.

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My biggest takeaway is that this is a movie about investigative Journalism, similar to Spotlight, which I believe is also a movie about how real journalist took on a story that could have destroyed them. You could say that the movie is propaganda for the heroism of Journalism with the egoism being overshadowed by the fact that they are indeed doing an expose on a very important matter. If you like movies on how Journalism works, this is a good one about turning rumors into fact (something that's hard to do in the days of the internet) going down the rabbit holes of curiosity to get people to talk to you about things they will not or cannot talk about. Done in the most real way possible as we get little background titbits about who these journalists are and how they work as a team with a realistic respect that you don't get from movies. No bosses screaming at their employees about what they can say or not say. Plus, like Spotlight I got some insight about the mechanics of Journalism. Like the procedure of how tow Journalist co-write a story. I will say the claimless of the film did have me get a little drowsy. I like the realness, but I do believe they could have picked up the pace in a few places. Overall, it was an ok watch.

Sometimes a movie is a record of events, a record of the truth, which lifts its importance higher than mere entertainment. There have been some notable films about real events, history changing events, and beyond the independently high value of each film, none have come close to All the President's Men (1976). There comes a moment in every film about journalism, that the size of the shark is revealed. In All the President's Men it is towards the end: "everyone is involved (...) your lives are in danger". In Spotlight (2015) it's when they realize the number of abusive priests, in Boston alone, is not five or six but over ninety. In She Said (2022) the size of the shark is revealed at the historical notes just before the end credits. She Said, may not be about a crook of a US President or the systemic cover-up of abuse by the Catholic church, but it is about something that reaches far and wide in every corner of life and of the workplace: the abuse of women and the abusers' standard defense that the victims are making it up, and then paying them off for their silence. Although the pace of the movie is slow and low key, like any investigative journalism is in real life, I would have wanted a few points of punctuation where we instantly realize we are going to need a bigger boat. Yes, such real-life points have been accurately transferred to the screen in She Said, but you have to look for them, they don't jump out at you, and if you are already sleeping you might miss them. This admittedly very well-made movie could do with a little more catering to audiences that need to be pinched awake once in a reel or so. For years now I have stopped re-watching Weinstein's excellent movies because they were made by a despicable creature who hurt human beings while making these excellent movies. No Weinstein re-runs for me. And kudos to the New York Times investigative reporters and to the New York Times for going after a world-renowned film producer and, in the beginning of the movie, going after a presidential candidate. The producer is now serving 23 years and the candidate got elected. I wonder how much of this movie was also about our society itself, that harbors such people and promotes them. And, speaking of society depicted on film, I wonder how many negative "helpful's" I'll get as punishment for my previous phrase.

This film is about two women reporters for the New York Times that blew open the story on Harvey Weinstein and his decades of abuse and coverups. The story is very told and shows investigative journalism done really well. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are both great as the two lead reporters. There are harrowing stories from dozens of women about abuse in this film. The story is compelling and their reporting led to the global #MeToo movement at the end of 2017. It brought down not only Weinstein but many other abusers were brought down after women came forward. The acting is in this film is really great and the screenplay in well written. This is one of best and most important films of the year.

Not any good? Well, Carey Mulligan is a favorite actress of mine and she was THE reason I started watching it. And she does act well. (when doesnt she?), BUT... The bad: this movie is void of real drama. That's incredible, when you think this is one of the most (if not) THE most explosive story Hollywood has faced the last decade. But what we as viewers actually get to see are LOTS OF BLAND talking scenes in boardrooms, with lots of supporting actors who are there there, without any real merit to the stories dramatic arch. Perhaps it adds new insights? New angles of looking at sexual intimidation and violence? Nope, the story is straightforward simple, longwinding and TEDIOUS. Not terrible, but terribly bland, because it is severely lacking in true heartfelt drama.

This is a very exciting and shocking movie. It is reminiscent of "Spotlight" (about the priests and children) and "All the President's Men" (about the break-in of a national campaign headquarters). I was on the edge of my seat right through the end (2 hours 9 min). But it's not about the ending which everyone knows because of news media reports. This movie concerns the nuts and bolts of how investigative journalists were able to persuade terrified people to come forward, and the way the journalists acquired real evidence that could stand up in a court of law. The evidence they uncover is genuinely astounding (and mostly heartbreaking). The two main actresses, Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, were fantastic! This is a story that really needed to be told. We need to appreciate our free press and continue to try to keep it.