Roger Ebert famously wrote that cinema is an empathy machine, a medium that can present the position of those you have little in common with and allow you to relate to them. She Said is a story that takes the position of women and makes it entirely relatable for a male audience while also expressing the fear and dismay that too many women have experienced. It does so through the very recent and indeed still unfolding story of Harvey Weinstein and his sexual predation upon multiple women over several decades. The story, originally published in the New York Times, led to multiple criminal charges and the eventual conviction of Weinstein in 2020, and a wider awareness of the abuse and exploitation of women in Hollywood by spawning the #MeToo movement.
This awareness penetrates the illusion of cinema through the texture of the film itself. The opening sequence of She Said is one of innocence and wonder, as a young woman in Ireland encounters the magic of the movies as she stumbles across a film set, which she is cordially invited into. Without further detail at this stage, we cut to the same woman running through a street in great distress, the film treating the audience with the intelligence to infer from this transition what has taken place. Further distress informs much of the film as we learn of the women harassed, abused and assaulted by Weinstein, always from their perspective and in retrospect, as their tales are gathered by journalists Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan). In this respect, the film is similar to other journalism thrillers like All The President’s Men and Spotlight, and, like these films, shows the importance of travel, talking, and eating, as many key scenes take place in restaurants and cafes.
Furthermore, She Said is prominently and explicitly a woman’s film, as director Maria Schrader draws attention to the female experience in a way that is clear for all viewers. This attention includes multiple crowd shots with women in the centre of the frame, long takes that rest on the faces of women as they tell their stories, and the unique tensions for female journalists. The first act features Megan writing about the allegations of sexual harassment against Donald Trump, allegations that made no difference to Trump’s election as US president. Megan’s receipt of a threatening phone call indicates the oppression women face, made all the more striking when we see these women juggling journalism with parenthood. We see Megan going through pregnancy, and in a scene that is remarkable for its inclusion, Megan cries over the stress of being a mother, doubting her suitability while her husband Jim Rutman (Tom Pelphrey) offers well-intentioned but useless platitudes. Jodi has a heart-wrenching scene where she discusses rape with her young daughter, learning that children throw this term around casually. Perhaps most tellingly, Megan and Jodi along with their colleague Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson) attempt to have a conversation in a bar but are approached by men who insist on interrupting despite being rebuffed, and only a furious ‘F*ck off!’ repels them. This explosion is what the women assaulted by Weinstein made clear they could not do, because of the immense power differential.
It is a gripping journalism thriller, an important women’s story, a damning indictment of systemic abuse and a call to arms for the power of voices
Importantly, the power differential is not simply down to gender, which ensures that She Said is far from being a man-hating diatribe. Plenty of the men here are decent, including Megan and Jodi’s husbands as well as NY Times editor Dean Bacquet (Andre Braugher) and some significant witnesses. This difference is between empathy and entitlement: those who empathise with suffering are sympathetic characters and also enforced by professionalism, especially Dean whose support for his journalists is unwavering. Furthermore, the problem is not presented as one predatory individual, but as systematic and institutional as privilege and power.
She Said presents a powerful voice in response to that power, or more precisely voices, as the Weinstein story is presented as a collective effort. Individuals including Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan are mentioned, and Ashley Judd appears as herself, while Jennifer Ehle, Angela Yeoh and Samantha Morton play former Weinstein employees who give harrowing stories. These sequences also highlight empathy, with no aggressive questioning or pleas about ‘doing the right thing’ from the journalists. Mulligan and Kazan are warm, committed and nuanced in their performances, ensuring that these characters are human rather than cyphers. There are key emotional moments between Megan and Jodi that demonstrate the personal and social importance to them, such as when Jodi breaks down in tears over a key witness agreeing to go on the record. The journalists also operate in a convincing workplace, Meredith Lippincott’s production design filling the newspaper offices with bustle and business as well as the omnipresent but never overwhelming technology of phones and laptops. Natasha Braier’s cinematography provides a strong contrast between the brightness of day and deep shadows as the reporters work long into the night. Similarly, the different locations where Megan and Jodi meet their various sources convey freedom and escape as well as entrapment and paranoia, just as the actions of Weinstein and the legal settlements made with the women create further restrictions.
The cumulative effect of these different stories, locations and concerns is to present the danger to women as exploitative and abusive patriarchal structures of which Weinstein is a beneficiary but far from the only culprit. Weinstein himself only appears as a voice on the phone and an obscured figure (Mike Houston), which could open the film to accusations of being one-sided. But Weinstein’s side of the various stories is included through his various representatives. Furthermore, both sides of the story are already in the public domain thanks to the trial(s) that came about following the publication of this story. Like the films, it follows the traditions of, the completion of the newspaper story is the goal of the narrative, hence the focus remains on these crusading but always compassionate journalists. As a result, She Said works on multiple levels. It is a gripping journalism thriller, an important women’s story, a damning indictment of systemic abuse and a call to arms for the power of voices, that deserves to be seen, discussed and remembered for as long as such stories are being, or perhaps even more urgently, not being heard.
SHE SAID IS PLAYING IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE
