She Said - Take Him Down!

 

Streaming on Peakock 

Rent on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube 

    Harvey Weinstein is one of the most pathetic, horrendous, and irredeemable wastes of human life to ever walk the Earth! He is a failure to the arts, an incompetent businessman, and a monster in every sense of the word. He deserves whatever punishment he receives while he spends the rest of his pathetic life rotting alone and forgotten in his cold, dark, damp prison cell! His only talent has been convincing himself that his inhumane and evil actions deserved no consequences. 

    Anyway, let's talk about the movie! 

    She Said is a dramatic account of the New York Times article that ultimately provided Harvey Weinstein's downfall. Weinstein, then owner of the production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, had a reputation for questionable business practices and contradictory artistic decisions with the films he produced: making unusual demands like cutting specific scenes or adding unnecessary padding for seemingly no sound reason other than he had the power to do so. It wasn't until much later (regrettably) that we all discovered his power extended to repeated acts of sexual assault and misconduct on most of the women in his employ, including known figures like Ashley Judd and Gwenith Paltrow. Because of Weinstein's incredible power and influence within the Hollywood system, many of his victims were too afraid to go on the record, having either witnessed or experienced the consequences of speaking out against him. 

    What made the matter worse was the number of people who knew of Weinstein's inhumane actions and did nothing about it! Treating the situation as though it were "expected" in the industry. As if we didn't need any more reason to believe the Hollywood system was nothing more than a toxic wasteland. 

    The film does a remarkable job of maintaining interest and audience engagement. Movies about journalism can be challenging to present, as they often require specific and even expected techniques to create a strong sense of motion. Journalism, while a noble profession, can be tedious and boring to portray on screen. The vast majority of journalism involves gathering information through interviews & phone calls and compiling said information into an article for publication. This means most of the runtime is spent watching people talking (either in person or on the phone) and typing in front of their computer screens (or sometimes typewriters). 

    She Said takes all the essential notes from previously successful films about journalism like All The Presidents Men and Spotlight: creating a sense of motion in stillness and unraveling mysteries one layer at a time, revealing increasingly unsettling details. Not to mention diligent performances from the entire cast, steady & witty dialogue, and firm direction guiding it all. 

    While She Said may not offer much nuance in films about journalism, it is nonetheless an important story that needs to be seen and remembered. Those sensitive to stories about sexual assault may be comforted that the film never delves into a complete depiction of any instances of assault, preferring the power of implication to convey the severity of the incident. 

    Totally check this one out. 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.