Review: “She Said”

  On the edge of my seat in the theater as a young female who works for her school newspaper, I sat there stunned watching “She Said,” the new film directed by Maria Schrader. 

  The film follows reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor from The New York Times as they work to publish the devastatingly true stories of women degraded in the film world by the infamous producer Harvey Weinstein. 

  Played by well-known stars Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan as Twohey and Kantor, they resembled an almost “good cop, bad cop” duo. Twohey was more demanding and assertive, while Kantor seemed more timid. I thought this created a nice balance leading me to wonder if this is how the two work together in real life.  

  This film shows the coming of age of women in journalism as they work with other women to bring down one of the most powerful men in the film world. “I can’t change what happened to you in the past, but together we may be able to use your experience to help protect other people,” Kantor said to a woman who was sharing her scarring experience about Weinstein. 

  I found it very interesting that Twohey and Kantor’s personal lives were also depicted, as they each had their own struggles like mental health and balancing families all while getting calls in the middle of the night from sources. 

  I saw the movie with a couple of my fellow female journalists, and we noted that the film portrays the excitement and suspense of a real newsroom when a good story is developing, as well as the team cooperation needed to bring a story to life. 

  The film did an impressive job displaying the mood of such a dark story without actually showing the audience any graphic scenes. The color palette was dull. As one of the characters described her assault, the camera panned from shots of clothes on the ground, Weinstein’s bath robe, and a running shower. This left the audience to their own imaginations and interpretations of the scenes as well as protecting those who have experienced assaults from possible triggers. 

  It is uncommon for films with such dark concepts to not show a single scene of violence and graphic content, but “She Said” did so in the most successful way possible. 

  Being a film major and a journalism student, this movie took me to an emotional place I generally don’t go to. The realities of powerful men and the women who work for them not being heard was a very horrifying concept to see on screen. I wondered to myself what I would do if I was in the same position as the victims. Would I have the courage to speak up or would I would stay silent to not jeopardize my career? 

  Thanks to these two journalists and the stories they were able to bring to surface, it has allowed more women to feel brave enough to come forth with their stories and also provide me, as a woman, the comfort that men in the workplace will not have the power to ruin my future. 

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