Ela Disse

My wife and I watched this new movie streaming on NBC's Peacock. While it is a bit over two hours it is so gripping that it never seemed long. It comes across almost as a documentary but is a dramatization using actors mostly.

It actually starts in 2015 when Trump was campaigning for President and the revelations that he had a history of sexual mistreatment of women but was elected anyway. In effect pointing out the double standard and the old boys' attitudes of "well it was just locker-room talk."

After that brief introduction to the subject the rest of this movie shows how two reporters with the NY Times pursued leads regarding Harvey Weinstein of Miramax and was finally able to get a number of women to come forward with their accounts, ultimately leading to his convictions and imprisonment.

I totally agree, and 'She Said' is the movie bigger than Weinstein. Rather than focusing on scandalous aspects, 'She said' tries to find the root problem of sexual abuses in the workplace and the culture of building silence, following investigators' footsteps to the core. The spectrum of messages in the movie ranges from personal to structural and systematic. The film starts with things very personal. It portrays motherhood and working mothers' struggle. It allocates much screen time of protagonists interacting with their daughters, signifying that the victims are not 'them'; it could be us and that we have to try hard not to pass this culture to future generations. There are, of course, small but relatable things for women such as unsolicited approach in the bar and postpartum depression. However, this film does not stop there. It questions the integral issues deeply rooted in the societal system. After the sexual misconduct by an assailant who is probably higher in ranking, it's the victim who leaves the company. NDA is used against victims for intimidation of lawsuits. The company which is responsible for an abusive environment forces them to be silent under the name of LAW. It becomes the shield for an assailant with resources and power. Megan and Jodi point out how sexual harassment law is weak, almost non-existent and how Equal Employment Opportunity Commission conceals information dearly needed for public.

I appreciate not only the story itself but also how 'She Said' tells the story. Very realistic portrayal of the newsroom and how the news is made. No frills or dramas, just plainly how it is. In this way, the audience does not get mixed up with dramas but stays focused on the main narrative and the message.

Even though they did not get much screen time, Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle steal the show, freaking echoing the whole space with calm demeanor. Breathtaking performances from veterans.

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.

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.

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.