She Said

Movies based on investigative journalism of social issues normally make for gripping stuff provided of course the storyline is taut and there is a competent director at work. Fortunately this is the case here where director Maria Schrader has diligently worked on a script written by three lady journalists who unravel the story of investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein. To the movie buff, this docudrama is reminiscent of " All the President's men" and "Spotlight". I was engrossed in the movie for the entire 2 hour 9 minutes of its runtime. Quite a significant portion of the movie deals with happenings inside the offices of New York Times wherein the journalists and the editors try to pin down Harvey with revealing statements of actresses and female employees who have suffered sexual harassment at some time. The victims are told that nothing can change their suffering but their statements could prevent recurrence of similar events. The journalists find that it difficult to convince the victims to speak of the then toxic environment considering that they have been forced to remain silent over the years through payments and contractual agreements. (Issue resolved through money payments and hence their silence is bought out.) The director maintains interest and pace at all times and some excellent acting seen on the part of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the two journalists out to uncover what happened then. They are at it in relentless pursuit day and night trying to balance work and life at the same time. A realistic touch is given with references to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd among the victims. Among the many impressive scenes, the one that stands out is when the group of five journalists and editors feverishly give a last minute reading to the report on computer before selecting the option to " Publish".