She Said

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.

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.

A very interesting film about the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the start of the #metoo movement. The lead performances by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan were great. The film had a solid script that kept me actively engaged. I think it did a great job tackling how difficult this situation was for so many women that were victims of this man. The dialogue really highlighted that. I liked the music a lot in this movie too. The directing was basic but still got the job done. Some of the editing choices were a little weird but some of them were very cool. Overall a solid movie about an interesting and important story that changed the Hollywood industry and the world in general.

It's a story of the brave and the courageous, of abuse and injury that's so outrageous, a vile predator is caged, you'll feel angered and enraged, as he's abhorrent, evil, heinous, and quite viscous. Jodi and Meghan lift the lid on these events, revealing a hornets nest of disturbing contents, a factual actual can of worms, makes you agitate and squirm, you'll be shouting at the screen, as your spleen vents.

A far from uncommon story of abuse when taken individually but, as they're gradually racked up against one individual the sense of what power and money can achieve, and especially conceal, leaves you questioning what really goes on behind closed doors, and whether those affected will ever come to terms with their past.

Great performances from Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan who's tenacity and passion for what they do shines through.

I am shocked this film wasn't nominated for any Academy awards. This was such a brilliantly well made movie. First of all the acting is fantastic. Both Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan were both realistic in there acting and it worked perfectly. The writing and directing was done very well. The entire film seemed to be handled with such care and it highly shows. The film is disturbing and well acted and talks about some very important topics that are needed to be talked about. Overall, this was just a great film. I don't think there is anything wrong with this film and it's a highly recommended film in my opinion.