K.T Simpson
In 2017, two determined New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey started to gather alarming evidence on Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein – in particular, his allegedly well-protected yet well-known decades long abusive nature. Thanks to on-the-record testimonials from colleagues, former co-workers, and some of Hollywood’s most famous actresses (one of whom plays herself in the movie, in a turn one can only hope results in a poetic awards nomination), all of whom who had suffered at the hands of the Miramax chief, Kantor and Twohey not only made swift moves to take down Weinstein but in turn kicked off the #metoo movement.
Directed by Maria Schrader, and written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, She Said is no more, no less the audio-visual companion of Kantor and Twohey’s book. Similarly structured to Spotlight – which also fixed on newspaper journalists exposing some monsters – which didn’t resort to Hollywood sensationalism and instead just rolled out the story, facts and all, like a slide show version of an audio book, this is a flick appreciably designed to inform, educate and serve more so than it is to entertain.
While it does hold attention and captivate, largely thanks to its fine performances (particularly by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, in the lead roles of Kantor and Twohey) and a sometimes jaw-dropping storyline, its power is in simply reminding us of a great injustice – one that sadly, despite changes, still exists – by merely re-running the body text of a pivotal article. It, like the article and book Kantor and Twohey, hopefully leads to further change.
