No other event in recent memory has shaken the film industry as hard as the Harvey Weinstein scandal. It’s the kind of mass shift in public consciousness that warrants treating history in pre- and post- terms. And as someone who has made it their life’s passion to look at and examine the products of the film industry, it’s quite the thing to try and squeeze into my pre-established auteurist way of looking at films. Between feature films, short films, and television shows, Weinstein has his name attached to over 300 products; that’s a lot of influence. And in that time, he’s worked closely with a number of filmmakers I hold in quite high regard like Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez. Hell, my favourite film of all time is a Weinstein Company production… and also stars Rose McGowan. As with any industry that makes products for mass consumption, you can never unlearn how the sausage is made.
When looking at a film that dramatises the efforts of the journalists who first broke the story of Weinstein’s nightmare shitlord behaviour (and that’s me toning it down), naturally, stuff like this comes to mind… but it’s also something that’s part of this film’s production as well. She Said is a product of Plan B, a film studio co-founded by Brad Pitt. Pitt himself was told about Gwyneth Paltrow’s mistreatment by Harvey back in the ‘90s, and he apparently confronted the man directly… only to continue working with him for a conspicuous amount of time after that. That Paltrow herself is part of this film’s story, mentioned several times as one of the women who came forward, only makes this even more uncomfortable to contemplate. Even when creating art meant to point the finger at abusers, Hollywood continues to let them benefit from it.
Not that I’m going to hold that against this film as I do my usual thematic musings on it, though. Pitt’s involvement may muddy the waters as far as this film’s righteous cause, but I don’t see the good that would come out of disregarding the work of everyone else who created this film, just because of his involvement in it. In much the same way that disregarding the work of those who worked on films that Weinstein produced does little as a sweeping movement. Ignoring the efforts of women because of the actions of one douchebag, considering the story being told here, doesn’t feel right. I can understand it if the douchebag in question is the director or the lead actor (and I freely admit that I’ve dodged quite a few releases this year on that basis), but with how varied the role of producer can be as far as contact with the people working on the film directly, I’m not as direct with that.
I’m just putting this all out there because, out of respect for the work being highlighted in holding the bastards accountable, this felt like something worth keeping in context. Especially since what has been put together here is really damn good. (Yes, after all that waffle, I promise that we are actually going to discuss the movie now)
What is first and foremost on-screen, at every turn, is what the women have to say. As Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) interview the women that come forward with their abused horror stories, every production element is devoted to just letting their words ring out. Natasha Braier’s cinematography employs a lot of long takes, leaving no break in the tension as they recall Weinstein’s actions towards them, while Nicholas Britell’s soundtrack hangs back so there’s minimal sonic interference. Even though the accounts are being spoken by actors (save for Ashley Judd appearing as herself), care is taken in making sure the emphasis is placed where it needs to be.
And then there’s Mulligan and Kazan’s contributions to the story, which does a lot to bulk up this as a dramatisation (as opposed to, say, just making a documentary about all this). In the depictions of their working and domestic lives, as mothers and as investigative journalists, every scene of them works to actively buck against the attitudes that engender the actions of those like Weinstein. From the sleepless nights, whether from crying babies or just the nature of their work, to their own run-ins with misogynistic behaviour, to the struggles in finding information and sources, to the brief moments of tear-stained relief and joy when things start to come around, there’s a lot of welcome depth to their characterisations here. Where the Weinsteins of the world view women just as passive playthings for themselves, this film shows women in all their facets.
As for the journalistic side of things, it follows the example of films like Spotlight and The Post with its interior view of the outlet the main characters are working for. Maintain integrity at all costs, validate every source and quote, the work in finding the sources and quotes in the first place; it’s all presented well and convincingly. But with that aforementioned bit about how much influence Weinstein had on the industry in mind, there’s an extra dose of tension with how much secrecy is ostensibly involved. The constant looking over the shoulder, the fear in the eyes and voices of the sources, the defeated tones of their respective settlements (which the film thankfully doesn’t turn into a round of victim-blaming, showing that the complicated myriad of reasons for accepting such things); it does well in conveying just how big this system is.
However, I say ‘ostensibly’ because, with how much the dialogue gets into the lengths Weinstein could possibly go to to shut up this story, Twohey and Kantor are shown a little too often just openly asking about sexual abuse in the workplace, in public no less. I don’t claim to be a journalist (film criticism might have some overlap with that, but… yeah, that’s not my field), but again, as a dramatisation, it just seems off.
But hey, that’s just me nitpicking: For the vast majority, this is some particularly gripping material and pretty hard to watch, but for the right reasons. As a docudrama about one of the most pivotal pop culture moments of the new millennium, it succeeds in giving both personal and historical context to the story, showing how the dark days of 2016 led up to it, along with the decades of mistreatment and defended dickery before it. It highlights the MeToo movement that would follow this as emphasising women’s voices, and it follows through simply by letting them talk.
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