Searing docudrama charts NY Times Harvey Weinstein sex scandal probe
58th Chicago Film Festival-Spotlight, Women In Film
60th New York Film Festival-World Premiere
Photo: Andre Braugher on the Red Carpet at Alice Tully Hall at the film’s premiere credit: NYFF/filmlinc
By Dwight Casimere
The tumult of recent political events has blunted the explosive impact of sexual abuse scandal, and now trial, of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. After all, it was the spark that set off the #Me Too movement.
Based on the best-selling book of the same title, “She Said,” the new film from Director Maria Schrader, that charts the year’s long investigation into Weinstein by New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor may change all that. The film is set to be in theatres Friday, Nov. 18.
Kantor and Twohey co-wrote the screenplay, along with Schrader and Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the in-over-their-heads reporting team, the film features veteran actress Patricia Clarkson, as their demanding, but tough-love editor Rebecca Corbett and a rock-solid performance from the always-reliable Andre Braugher as the take-no-bullshit senior editor Dean Baquet.
Brad Pitt is listed as one of the Producers of the film.
The film and its cast brilliantly portray the behind-the-scenes drama that goes into creating great reporting from the ‘worlds greatest newspaper.’
The extreme urgency and the implicit danger of Kantor and Twohey’s mission are conveyed in the tempo of the film. The action unfolds in real time, creating a dramatic tension that is underscored by the pulsating music of Nicholas Britell, fluid steadicam cinematography by Natasha Braier and seamless film editing by Hansjorg Weisbrich.
Casting directors don’t normally get named in film reviews but Francine Maisler deserves a mention for this sterling assemblage.
As if the film didn’t feel real enough in its sense of urgency, the great film star and singer Ashley Judd, appears as herself in the film. If you recall, it was her coming forward with her account of the brutal attack on her by Weinstein at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills that blew the story wide open when she spoke on the record to the Time in 2017.
At the World Premiere of ‘She Said’ at the 60th New York Film Festival, Judd appeared on the Red Carpet and on the Alice Tully Hall stage at Lincoln Center alongside the other Weinstein accusers, to a standing ovation.
The urgent pacing of the film reminded me a great deal of Andy Davis’ Oscar-winning 1993 film, The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, in which this reviewer played television news reporter, which I was in real life at the time.
She Said is in theatres Friday, Nov. 18. Visit shesaidmovie.com.
