Film Review: She Said

 

It had to happen. In 1976, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford exposed the Watergate scandal that brought down an American president.

Now, 40-some years and the #MeToo Movement later, we have “She Said,” detailing how two New York Times reporters exposed film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s repulsive activities requiring sexual services of young actresses looking for jobs.

This time, the reporters are Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, playing New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who doggedly pursued young female victims in an attempt to get them “on the record.”

Twohey and Kantor were not surprised that many of the victims were willing to describe their experiences, nor that almost all of them said they were afraid of Weinstein and would only talk “off the record.”

Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan

But they kept working until they finally found someone willing to talk on the record. That opened the floodgate for others. 

Mulligan and Kazan are magnificent as the investigators, who keep at it despite the “off the record” responses. It must have been extremely frustrating, but these two kept at without giving in to annoyance in the process. 

It was worth the effort, because it brought to public consciousness what women have known for eons. 

Weinstein was convicted on two of the five charges brought against him and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He appealed the conviction, which was upheld in court. He is currently serving in California, where he faces other sexual assault charges from five women over the course of a decade.

“She Said” should be seen by everyone.