Dog’s Movie House: “She Said” Riveting Film In The Vein Of “All The President’s Men” And “Spotlight!”

Like “All The President’s Men” and “Spotlight” before it, “She Said” gets a lot of mileage out of being ripped from recent headlines. There’s a great deal of interest in peeking behind the curtain into events you’ve only read about in the news media. Of course “She Said” is going to be somewhat fictionalized as is the case with most drama, but the meat of the story and many of the details are all true, and as a journalist myself I found it gratifying to see the nuts and bolts portrayal of the journalistic profession at work. The film takes you step by step through the process of getting the story idea, getting the information, working on verification, getting people to come forward, and finally hashing out the actual writing and publication of the story. All of these details make for an interesting and involving film that never feels overlong despite its two-plus hour runtime.

Maria Schrader’s direction in sharp and she has good material to work with from Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s equally sharp script (from Twohey and Kantor’s best-selling book) that thankfully eschews an overt agenda in favor of the nuts-and-bolts details of investigating the story and putting it together. It’s clear that Weinstein was an entitled scumbag and predator, but the movie doesn’t hit you over the head with that fact, instead working from a more natural, organic point of view that doesn’t preach to the viewer at all.

Schrader and her team get top-notch performances from Mulligan and Kazan as Twohey and Kantor, respectively. Mulligan, in particular, gets to show more dimension as Twohey, who in addition to being immersed in this important story, is also dealing with post-partum depression after the birth of her first child. The wonderful Patricia Clarkson is in fine form as editor Rebecca Corbett, a driven woman who also demonstrates great wisdom and compassion for both the story and her reporters. Andre Braugher adds authority and grace as editor-in-chief Dean Baquet, a man who knows how to deal with intimidating figures such as Weinstein and goes to bat for his team every time. Special mention must be made of Jennifer Ehle who plays Laura Madden, a victim of Weinstein’s all the way back in 1992, who comes forward despite the fact that she’s battling cancer. Her conversations with Kantor are among the most affecting in the film and Ehle’s performance (especially in her eyes and facial expressions) really sell the scenes. And kudos to Ashley Judd making an appearance as herself: it must have been tough to re-enact the events that lead to her eventual blackballing in Hollywood. One hopes that this leads to a comeback for the immensely talented actress.

While the film doesn’t quite live up to the lofty heights of it’s predecessors, “She Said” is still a stirring, compelling tale of investigative journalism about a subject that, despite the changes wrought by this very story, needs to continue to be discussed. Well-directed, written and acted, “She Said” is an exellent primer on the world of investigative journalism and the pressing issues such a profession explores and exposes. 4 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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