Two New York Times journalists investigate the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
Beautiful and hair-raising at the same time. Films like She Said sometimes confuse you as to where to start. The acting? The directing? The editing? The script? The story? Let’s start with the latter. The story is shocking and utterly disgusting. What Harvey Weinstein had been doing for all those years was inhumane and monstrous. That applies to the rest of the men doing it, then and now. On the other hand, what Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey did restores the faith in humanity. That applies to the rest of the people doing it, then and now. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s script’s non-linear narrative pulls that audience in and, engagingly, keeps them on the edge of their seats. The back and forth maintains the suspense, perpetuates it and gives a complete picture of what was happening and when, not when you want but when you need to. The credits here also go to the editor, Hansjörg Weißbrich!
In front of the camera, Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher (his last film – RIP), Jennifer Ehle, Ashley Judd, and the rest of the cast move the audience deeply with their outstanding performances, making you root for them to get to the bottom of it even if you know already what will eventually happen. Director Maria Schrader (always with Weißbrich by her side) made a daring, beautiful film where most elements work perfectly. She is a tremendous director, and She Said is not a one-off. Her also daring miniseries Unorthodox (2020): https://kaygazpro.com/unorthodox-2020-drama/, which also captivates and cuts the viewer’s breath short with its honesty, is the proof you need that her lens is not holding any punches and produces the raw intended result.
You may or may not have heard the reason why Brad Pitt was the producer of this film and Women Talking (2022): https://kaygazpro.com/women-talking-2022-drama/ (other than the performances, I had nothing good to say about that one), also made the same year. Let’s trust Justice on that one. What bothered me about She Said was that people didn’t go to the cinema to watch it. At the premiere, we all thought it would raise significant awareness, something that did not happen, and the film flopped. It’s troubling. It really is. Yet, films like She Said inspire all of us who don’t have that kind of reach to keep on writing, using our honest voice for whoever is listening or reading. So, people like Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are people we look up to.
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