She Said review: a heart-thumping passionate triumph

October 5, 2017. The day when The New York Times published its investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against one of the most powerful men in the film industry, Harvey Weinstein. It was a bombshell, one that appeared to confirm the truth of the rumors which had circulated in Hollywood for years, and put the producer in prison for rape and other sexual misconduct charges. But it wasn’t about just one man. 

Just two years later, journalists Meghan Twohey and Jodi Kantor released their book on how they broke the story. It’s the basis for Maria Schrader’s incendiary She Said, about a piece of recent history that opened up a proverbial Pandora’s Box that shows no signs of closing any time soon. Pursuing their story with the doggedness of All The President’s Men or Spotlight, the pair faced a culture of fear and its power in guaranteeing silence: settlements, payments, NDAs all kept everything under wraps, with doors slammed in their faces and phone conversations ending abruptly. It was only when a handful of women decided to go public with their experiences that the floodgates opened and the treatment of women in Hollywood found itself in the full glare of the spotlight.

The film has all the thriller elements of its illustrious predecessors, but Schrader takes it into heart-pounding territory by leaving us in no doubt about what the survivors who spoke out had to lose. Everything. They each have their story, starting with the wide-eyed teenager of the opening sequences who, in the 1990s, is thrilled to land a job on a film set. Moments later, she’s running down the street in floods of tears, terrified and horrified. We can only imagine what’s happened. She’s Lauren Madden, played later in the film by Jennifer Ehle, whose decision to go public runs in parallel with another deeply personal, life-changing experience. 

Other survivors were more accustomed to life in the public eye, although we never actually see them. There is one exception and her arrival on screen is a heart-stopper. Ashley Judd, whose career was destroyed after an encounter with Weinstein, appears in person on several occasions, re-living her experiences and her painful decisions. Not that the film’s makers have been secretive about it, yet it takes nothing away from the impact or the significance of her scenes.

We never see the faces of the other, better-known names. Schrader uses a similar technique to that in The Assistant, a film that covered similar ground but was hampered by its pandemic release date. In Kitty Green’s claustrophobic drama, we never see the boss of the production company and only hear his bullying tones on the phone. In She Said, we see a Weinstein body double from behind just once: otherwise, he’s a voice, and a malevolent presence overshadowing everything that transpires onscreen. The paranoia is palpable. Interestingly, in the early stages of the movie, another voice-only character is President Donald J Trump. And the vocal similarities are more than a little noticeable.

In her first English language film, Schrader is impressively impassioned in her storytelling, surrounding it with an atmosphere reeking of threat. She’s significantly helped by the double act at the heart of the film, Mulligan and Kazan, who portray dedicated journalists, but people with home lives, families and their own personal issues to contend with. They’re supported by a strong ensemble at the newspaper offices. Andre Braugher, in particular, is miles away from Brooklyn 99 as the Times head who takes no s**t from Weinstein under any circumstances. You’d want him in your corner for sure.

She Said is a triumph. And, although its particular narrative comes to a conclusion, it leaves us in no doubt that this is a story where there is no end in sight, that there is a long way to go and much more to do before there is real and lasting change. This is, after all, recent history. As a film, its heart-thumping passion has a breathless power all of its own.

She Said hits US theaters on Friday, November 18 and in UK cinemas on Friday, November 25.