User reviews

Sometimes a movie is a record of events, a record of the truth, which lifts its importance higher than mere entertainment. There have been some notable films about real events, history changing events, and beyond the independently high value of each film, none have come close to All the President's Men (1976).

There comes a moment in every film about journalism, that the size of the shark is revealed. In All the President's Men it is towards the end: "everyone is involved (...) your lives are in danger". In Spotlight (2015) it's when they realize the number of abusive priests, in Boston alone, is not five or six but over ninety. In She Said (2022) the size of the shark is revealed at the historical notes just before the end credits.

She Said, may not be about a crook of a US President or the systemic cover-up of abuse by the Catholic church, but it is about something that reaches far and wide in every corner of life and of the workplace: the abuse of women and the abusers' standard defense that the victims are making it up, and then paying them off for their silence.

Although the pace of the movie is slow and low key, like any investigative journalism is in real life, I would have wanted a few points of punctuation where we instantly realize we are going to need a bigger boat. Yes, such real-life points have been accurately transferred to the screen in She Said, but you have to look for them, they don't jump out at you, and if you are already sleeping you might miss them. This admittedly very well-made movie could do with a little more catering to audiences that need to be pinched awake once in a reel or so.

For years now I have stopped re-watching Weinstein's excellent movies because they were made by a despicable creature who hurt human beings while making these excellent movies. No Weinstein re-runs for me. And kudos to the New York Times investigative reporters and to the New York Times for going after a world-renowned film producer and, in the beginning of the movie, going after a presidential candidate. The producer is now serving 23 years and the candidate got elected. I wonder how much of this movie was also about our society itself, that harbors such people and promotes them. And, speaking of society depicted on film, I wonder how many negative "helpful's" I'll get as punishment for my previous phrase.

It's a story of the brave and the courageous, of abuse and injury that's so outrageous, a vile predator is caged, you'll feel angered and enraged, as he's abhorrent, evil, heinous, and quite viscous. Jodi and Meghan lift the lid on these events, revealing a hornets nest of disturbing contents, a factual actual can of worms, makes you agitate and squirm, you'll be shouting at the screen, as your spleen vents.

A far from uncommon story of abuse when taken individually but, as they're gradually racked up against one individual the sense of what power and money can achieve, and especially conceal, leaves you questioning what really goes on behind closed doors, and whether those affected will ever come to terms with their past.

Great performances from Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan who's tenacity and passion for what they do shines through.

A very interesting film about the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the start of the #metoo movement. The lead performances by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan were great. The film had a solid script that kept me actively engaged. I think it did a great job tackling how difficult this situation was for so many women that were victims of this man. The dialogue really highlighted that. I liked the music a lot in this movie too. The directing was basic but still got the job done. Some of the editing choices were a little weird but some of them were very cool. Overall a solid movie about an interesting and important story that changed the Hollywood industry and the world in general.

The two leading actors did a fantastic job. It was hard for me to find anything wrong with this film. I could not believe how the two hours went so quickly for me.

At one point the frustration for Megan Twohey bubbles over and that scene brought a few tears.

It's important for people to see and understand how prevalent the intimidation and bullying is in the workplace. I have had my own challenges, but nothing like some others. I'm sure it could be difficult to watch if it stirs up unfortunate memories.

I could understand it not being for everyone, but I truly hope that many take the time for it.

Brava to the screenwriting, the direction, and the acting! Pretty sure awards/nominations are coming.

A few years ago a female friend of mine casually mentioned that one day when she was twelve and biking around the neighborhood, a grown man made sexually explicit comments to her. This kind of came as a shock to me at first but she didn't even seem phased by it. This encounter came up randomly as part of an everyday conversation we were having and, looking back at it, the most shocking part of the story was my reaction to it. Because now I have fully opened my eyes to the horrors of unwanted sexual comments and actions that women face from a very, very, young age.

While watching She Said, I had this passing thought about what the world would be like if Harvey Weinstein was the only one of his kind. If what happened here was the only instance of anything of this sort happening. Not just the abuse of power aspect of it all, but the constant degradation and use of women as objects to fulfill some devious need. Perhaps in that world, there wouldn't be so many people immediately rating movies like this with the lowest score possible because they feel personally offended in some way. What is it about discussing the experience of women that offends men so much? What is it about the patriarchy that rubs off on some women and pushes them to call other women liars at once?

She Said is a wonderfully directed film that delves deep into some of the ins and outs of the 'Me Too' movement at its conception. The wonderful work of all journalists, namely Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor is to be complimented to no end. They helped bring forth a much-needed shift in attitude, though unfortunately, some mindsets will never truly change. One of my favorite films of the year and I sure hope more people actually watch it and take it seriously rather than ignore it and hate it for speaking truth to power.

Movies based on investigative journalism of social issues normally make for gripping stuff provided of course the storyline is taut and there is a competent director at work. Fortunately this is the case here where director Maria Schrader has diligently worked on a script written by three lady journalists who unravel the story of investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein. To the movie buff, this docudrama is reminiscent of " All the President's men" and "Spotlight". I was engrossed in the movie for the entire 2 hour 9 minutes of its runtime. Quite a significant portion of the movie deals with happenings inside the offices of New York Times wherein the journalists and the editors try to pin down Harvey with revealing statements of actresses and female employees who have suffered sexual harassment at some time. The victims are told that nothing can change their suffering but their statements could prevent recurrence of similar events. The journalists find that it difficult to convince the victims to speak of the then toxic environment considering that they have been forced to remain silent over the years through payments and contractual agreements. (Issue resolved through money payments and hence their silence is bought out.) The director maintains interest and pace at all times and some excellent acting seen on the part of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as the two journalists out to uncover what happened then. They are at it in relentless pursuit day and night trying to balance work and life at the same time. A realistic touch is given with references to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd among the victims. Among the many impressive scenes, the one that stands out is when the group of five journalists and editors feverishly give a last minute reading to the report on computer before selecting the option to " Publish".

I am shocked this film wasn't nominated for any Academy awards. This was such a brilliantly well made movie. First of all the acting is fantastic. Both Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan were both realistic in there acting and it worked perfectly. The writing and directing was done very well. The entire film seemed to be handled with such care and it highly shows. The film is disturbing and well acted and talks about some very important topics that are needed to be talked about. Overall, this was just a great film. I don't think there is anything wrong with this film and it's a highly recommended film in my opinion.

A solid if uninspired film about the two New York Times journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal and ushered in the MeToo movement.

Taking a cue from films like "All the President's Men" and "Spotlight," the film goes for sober realism rather than glamorized excitement, and it focuses on the dogged and often frustrating details around trying to gather together the pieces of a story worth publishing. It's not as gripping as either of those movies, though, and I'm not sure why. It's got all the ingredients, but something's just missing. It's almost restrained to a fault.

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are excellent as the two journalists, and I always enjoy Patricia Clarkson. But Samantha Morton, who I haven't seen in forever, comes out of nowhere to deliver the film's most memorable performance in what amounts to a cameo. It's a strong actress who can be on screen for no more than five minutes or so yet leave you remembering nothing but her. Unfortunately, that's also an indication that movie around her wasn't very memorable.

Grade: B+

Greetings from Lithuania.

"She Said" (2022) is a very true story about journalists which wrote the infamous article about Harvey Weinstein, which eventually lead to many changes for a good. This movie plays like a documentary - there is no big character development, nor any conventional plot lines. Its about the even and how one got made.

Directing of this movie was very solid - at running time 2 hours i was involved into this story even knowing the outcome very well as the one who actually read the article back in the day. Acting was on spot.

Overall, "She Said" is a true and raw account of events. Its not glamorized nor anything similar - this film plays like a documentary and its a very good one in doing that.

Try as I did, I just couldn't really engage with this rather long, procedural and sterile depiction of two journalist's traumatic and courageous efforts that finally ended Harvey Weinstein's unfettered abuse of many of the women who worked for and with him over the lengthy span of his Hollywood dominance. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are competent, but no more, as these lead reporters facing the seemingly impossible task of navigating a toxic environment of fear, shame and non-disclosure agreements in the hope that one of his victims will go on the record. When you know what ultimately happens with a true-life scenario, it makes the telling of the story that much harder because there is no sense of jeopardy. The thing with this for me, though, was that the writing and characterisations were all just too flat. It also frequently blurs the distinctions between fact (or "information" as it is often referred to here) with unsubstantiated gossip. Now, clearly the aim of these two ladies was to substantiate those rumours, but the film doesn't really get to grips properly with that. One witness has been untraceable for many years (yet she is readily found by them living with her mother!); the others have remained tight lipped due to the NDAs but suddenly start to spill the beans. Why? What made them decide to finally bring this brute to book? The cold-calling nature of their approaches often appears cruel and ill-considered of the consequences (especially the scene with Andrew Cheung (Edward Astor Chin) obliviously mowing his lawn). None of the detail or personalities are really gone into here - the whole style is superficial and the lack of dramatisation of any of the incidents, or - indeed - of Weinstein himself, leaves us with a slightly disjointed, hollow, movie. It looks at the abhorrences of intimidation and oppression in the workplace then makes generic inferences that - and this applies to men, gay people, people of colour and not just women - rather underwhelmed me at the end. As a chronology of an investigative report it is fine. As a drama about real people facing real horrors it just lacks for depth and character.

She Said is an incredible and important drama that handles it's tough subject matter and fact based events with sensitivity and care whilst being a scathing criticism of Hollywood, it's abuse of power and the lengths it goes to protect the wrong people.

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan give terrific lead performances, they bring so many layers to the characters and their chemistry is strong. The film is also full of excellent support performances that leave a lasting impression, particularly Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle.

Maria Schrader's direction is amazing, the film has so much visual style but in a way that's never invasive or showy and still allows the performances and story to be front and centre. The music by Nicholas Britell borders on being too much but thankfully never does, staying haunting and sombre.

In the rather overlong watch-through, one aspect of the film that touched me was the detailed depiction of primary sources: one of them silenced but persistent, one fearful while brave, one sickened yet righteous. Despite their apparent and intrinsic differences, all these women demonstrated resilience against injustice and made their jump with honor. Specifically, the decision of Laura before her surgery was the true catharsis-moment of the entire movie, as even the most physically feeble and emotionally broken person could contribute the slightest, and yet the most formidable, effort to expose wrongdoings.

She Said gives me the vibe of a documentary, and I would argue that it'd be better off as a documentary. Immense dialogue and insipid cinematography supply the audience with little to no joy in watching it as a movie, regardless of how emotive and heated the topic is. In addition, the two protagonists, when overlooking the fact that they both have kids to deserve fairness, are not aptly motivated for their endeavor on a personal level, making a supposedly alarming story so much less compelling. In my opinion, sexual abuse films can be approached either implicitly with a heavy aftertaste (eg. Little Tickle) or explicitly with realistic reflections (eg. Silenced, a revolutionary film of Korea). She Said targets a factual incident from the perspectives of two contrived, radical, not-so-relatable journalists, jokingly roasts Trump just to affirm a political standpoint, and has the tone of a lecturing professor. Cringe is the word I find most descriptive of my feelings toward the movie, plus the trailer has all its highlight moments for anyone interested.

My wife and I watched this new movie streaming on NBC's Peacock. While it is a bit over two hours it is so gripping that it never seemed long. It comes across almost as a documentary but is a dramatization using actors mostly.

It actually starts in 2015 when Trump was campaigning for President and the revelations that he had a history of sexual mistreatment of women but was elected anyway. In effect pointing out the double standard and the old boys' attitudes of "well it was just locker-room talk."

After that brief introduction to the subject the rest of this movie shows how two reporters with the NY Times pursued leads regarding Harvey Weinstein of Miramax and was finally able to get a number of women to come forward with their accounts, ultimately leading to his convictions and imprisonment.

Greetings again from the darkness. Allow me to open with how I fully support the idea of telling (and re-telling) these stories and exposing those behind the many instances of intimidation and abuse that occurs in and around the workplace. Newspaper articles, magazine articles, TV shows, podcasts, books, and movies all find an audience and help educate and enlighten those who might become more attuned to the topic. So, even though most everyone knows the saga of movie mogul and chronic abuser Harvey Weinstein, there is a place for director Maria Schrader's (I'M YOUR MAN, 2021) film ... even as an imprisoned Weinstein continues to face additional charges in various states. Rebecca Lenkiewicz (IDA, 2013) adapted the screenplay from the 2019 book by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey; a book based on their New York Times investigation and series.

Carey Mulligan stars as Megan Twohey, and Zoe Kazan as Jodi Kantor. Twohey is the more veteran and hardline of the two, while Kantor is more sensitive and keyed into the feelings of the victims. We see Twohey working on a Trump story prior to the 2016 election, but Schrader's film mostly revolves around these two hard-working and focused women researching the Weinstein story, while also making sure we understand the added pressures of being working and career-minded mothers of young children. Some scenes are even shot within the actual New York Times offices, and of course, we get the obligatory exterior building shots as well.

One of the biggest takeaways from this is the continuous challenges reporters face when trying to get sources to go on the record for a sensitive story. Added complexity here comes in the form of Non-Disclosure Agreements, settlements, and hush money. In fact, much of the screen time involves the reporters trying to talk to people who aren't legally allowed to talk, and to verify just how many instances of "settlements" occurred involving Harvey Weinstein.

Supporting roles are covered by Patricia Clarkson as Rebecca Corbett, Andre Braugher as Dean Baquet, Jennifer Ehle as Laura Madden, Samantha Morton as Zelda Perkins (a terrific scene), and Ashley Judd, who plays herself - the one who kicked this into the headlines. We get the feeling the filmmakers hoped this would be a modern day ALL THE PRESIDENTS' MEN (1976), though it has more in common with SPOTLIGHT (2015). Where this film struggles is that most of us know the story so there are no 'aha' moments, and the best parts are the interviews with those playing the victims ... and there simply aren't enough of those moments. Instead, we see a lot of reporters on the way to investigate, or preparing to report, or taking notes ... but the real crux of the story eludes us and we are left wondering if this movie is strong enough given the real life impact of Twohey and Kantor. Kudos to Schrader for never showing Weinstein's face, but instead focusing on the women.

Opens in theaters November 18, 2022.

When the Weinstein story first broke out, I was absolutely seething for days. And watching this movie brought all those feelings back again.

I can't imagine what it must have been like for these women to deal with a monster like that, let alone be preyed upon and assaulted by him.

The film is a feminist version of All The President's Men mixed with Spotlight, in which a group of journalists work tirelessly and passionately to research and write a story that will ultimately change the world.

Although there is no character development, there are good performances all around, especially from Carey Mulligan and Jennifer Ehle.

To think that this was going on for literally decades and up until recently is just insane.

Brilliant, powerful film.

If you were expecting something thrilling or fast paced, I would not recommend this movie. This movie is about the perspective of Legal Protection from the corrupt film business owners who think his company can get away with legal settlements and enforcing policies that keep the victims from talking. It is shocking to see how people with a lot of money can bully those with no money from speaking about their sexual assault and harassment from Harvey Weinstein. The two journalists are top notch. Great actresses who is resilient to finding the truth. I never knew writing an article this big can be so thrilling that it kept me glue to the screen. Not recommended for children though. They may find it not interesting for them.

Set in 2017, investigative reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) investigate allegations of sexual abuse and toxic workplace environments against high profile Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as the two talk to reluctant witnesses and survivors and navigate a deluge of NDAs uncovering a widespread systemic abuse of power.

She Said is an adaptation of the 2019 non-fiction book of the same name by writers Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey which itself covered their investigative reporting surrounding Harvey Weinstein's history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women in addition to creating a toxic workplace. The movie is an ambitious project as it covers a very important piece of recent history with these public allegations heralding the MeToo era and there's definitely been positioning for the film as an Oscar contender. She Said is told in a very familiar way, but it does respectfully shine a light on systemic abuse and enabling of that abuse.

If you're familiar with similar films like Tom McCarthy's Spotlight or Steven Spielberg's The Post, then you can expect very much the same approach from She Said as it's a methodical detail oriented piece that largely eschews sensationalisms or emotional manipulation in favor painting a picture of the issue it tackles rather than any particular individual involved while Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are both good in their roles as Twohey and Kantor and have good chemistry with each other, it's not really their movie as they mainly serve as observers to the stories of others and are collecting them as part of creating the article that will shine a light on Weinstein. The movie does try to give more personal investment for Twohey and Kantor such as a prologue showing the violent sexualized death threats Twohey received after reporting on allegations against Trump in 2016, fending off lewd unsolicited remarks from men while dining out, or scenes with the two interacting with their daughters but it doesn't really offer Kazan or Mulligan any standout moments that elevate either of them above serving as our proxies in the investigation which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it keeps the focus where it should be but does make for a dry sit on occasion.

The movie covers Twohey and Kantor's interactions with many figures in the Weinstein scandal both from the victims and witness against Weinstein as well as those representing Weinstein. The script by playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz does a solid job of bringing these survivor stories to life and while it doesn't actually show anything instead opting to show empty hotel hallways and rooms to add ambiance it makes it no less impactful especially when you have Ashley Judd playing herself relaying her story of abuse at the hands of Weinstein. Maria Schrader does a good job of keeping the film moving at a brisk pace and it never feels like it drags and all the actors give solid performances for the material.

She Said is well made prestige filmmaking and treats a fresh and relevant topic respectfully and tastefully without diving into exploitation. The movie makes a strong point about the prevalence of abuse by those in power and how it's not simply contained to Weinstein himself with the movie wisely keeping Weinstein mostly in the background or as a voice on the phone. If you enjoy true story films of this ilk such as Spotlight or The Post this is definitely one you should check out.

I was hoping for a bit more gripping build up and considering the topic, was hoping for a more choked dramatisation, the type that you feel genuinely disgusted and disturbed by the reality of what a famous powerful man can do and get away with.

Instead the directing was very loose, very low key, with no tightness to the pace or tension build up. Cary who is usually so good, just looks distanced and distracted, like she needs to go to another film set.

Otherwise it is engaging as you need to know how things unfold, but it's not due to the direction, acting or screenplay, just simply because it's Weinstein.

Strangly i had heard nothing of this movie before watching, i was pleasantly surprised by a well written account of real life events. It was well done and the actors cast in this worked well.

After all the hype of rubbish movies like Top Gun finally get to watch something with a decent script.

It is disturbing though how much of this goes on in the world, this is just one example of what happens at many companies. You dont need to be a feminist to enjoy this movie.

Take the time to watch it, you will enjoy the well put together cast and storyline. Wish more movies concentrated on storyline and cast instead of big special effects and corny lines.

The movie "She Said" is a biographical drama that tells the story of New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein. The movie intertwines the professional challenges of journalists with their personal lives.

It's observed that both the writer and director seem to exhibit gender bias. Why is it that movies about female journalists often blend their professional work with their domestic life? This narrative approach isn't commonly seen in films about male journalists, such as "All the President's Men," "Spotlight," and "The Post.", it appears that they consistently need to demonstrate their strength, resilience, and intelligence to excel in both their professional and personal lives.

This is a conventional movie about investigative journalism, offering little in the way of originality.

My Review - She Said. My Rating 10/10

This is a very important movie that will probably suffer at the box office as evidenced by poor attendance early in it's initial theatrical release.

It's based on the 2019 book of the same name by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey two persistent and brave journalists who took on the ugly spectre of the once most powerful man in Hollywood Harvey Weinstein.

It's probably no coincidence that Carey Mulligan who was also superb as Maud Watts another pioneer for women's rights in the 2015 movie Suffragette was cast as Megan Twohey who along with Zoe Kazan who's equally impressive as Jodi Kantor ,they both have a place in journalistic history .

I think these two impressive investigative journalists will be seen to be as important in the history of women's rights as the 1912 suffragettes in London who also battled powerful men who thought women should be silenced and remain subservient in a male dominated system.

She Said is a much much bigger story than the pursuit and eventual conviction of Harvey Weinstein who is currently serving 23 years in prison and interestingly at the time of this movie's release is facing more charges of sexual assault in L. A. In one of the many powerful scenes in the film Megan Twohey says to her colleague Jodi Kantor words to the effect that this is much more than nailing Weinstein .

It's not just him we should be after. They have an entire machine What we're dealing with here is a system that condones sexual abuse to women by men in powerful positions.

If it could happen to Hollywood actresses, who else is it happening to?

That's the reason I think this movie is one of the most important films of the year .

Beautifully directed by Maria Schrader with a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz that's intense if perhaps a little slow in gaining momentum but when it does it soars .

There's so many great performances in She Said , special mention must be made about Patricia Clarkson as Rebecca Corbett the executive editor who encourages and supports the two journalists and Jennifer Ehle as Laura Madden a woman facing a life threatening health crisis .

Laura's story which begins the movie when she is a young woman on a film set in Ireland in 1995 . It concerns the sexual abuse perpetrated by Weinstein that she has felt shamed for and hidden from her family till this investigation .

There are to many other great performances to mention including Ashley Judd who played such an important role in the exposure of Weinstein's crimes she of course plays herself .

I think this is why this film has an authenticity about it including the fact that the movie was shot in the real New York Times building and is the first movie ever to use the real offices.

It was interesting and a little surprising to see Brad Pitt's name on the credits as an Executive Producer of this movie . When he was dating Gwyneth Paltrow decades before his marriage to Angelina Jolie he was aware of the sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein .

He also purchased the rights to the book on which this movie is based on.

Gwyneth Paltrow who is often mentioned but not seen in the movie told him about her encounters with Weinstein which occurred at the very beginning of her career according to her interview on the Howard Stern Show on May 23, 2018.

In 2009, Pitt starred in Inglourious Basterds (2009), which was produced by Weinstein and distributed by The Weinstein Company, and a few years later he approached Weinstein and asked him to produce the movie Killing Them Softly (2012) . Angelina Jolie who was also a victim of Weinstein's abuse said in an interview for The Guardian on September 4, 2021, that she fought with Pitt over that, but he still wanted Weinstein to produce the movie anyway, and Jolie said that it hurt her that Pitt was happy to work with Weinstein despite knowing he had assaulted her.

I really hope my review prompts more people to see She Said in a cinema preferably as it is obvious from the early Trump reference regarding his sexual misconduct allegations with audio evidence to back it up that these powerful men still have a powerful protection machine behind them .

Weinstein's great protector amazingly was a woman Lisa Bloom an attorney who tried to discredit the journalists and the women who came forward .

One of the most notable trends to emerge from the 2016 presidential election was the large number of white women who helped solidify Donald Trump's victory.

Hopefully this trend has turned around the Trump phone call in the early scenes of She Said sets the plot for a disturbing and very educational movie experience.

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"She Said proves that even a formulaic, overlong movie can still be incredibly compelling and emotionally impactful.

The haunting true story of Harvey Weinstein's accounts of sexual abuse is approached with heartfelt care, dedication, and respect for the victims. Everything is elevated by absolutely brilliant performances from the cast, most notably Zoe Kazan. Even without significant innovations, Maria Schrader keeps the narrative interesting with the help of Nicholas Britell's score.

It deserves to be seen by everyone."

Rating: B-

Not any good? Well, Carey Mulligan is a favorite actress of mine and she was THE reason I started watching it. And she does act well. (when doesnt she?), BUT...

The bad: this movie is void of real drama. That's incredible, when you think this is one of the most (if not) THE most explosive story Hollywood has faced the last decade. But what we as viewers actually get to see are LOTS OF BLAND talking scenes in boardrooms, with lots of supporting actors who are there there, without any real merit to the stories dramatic arch.

Perhaps it adds new insights? New angles of looking at sexual intimidation and violence? Nope, the story is straightforward simple, longwinding and TEDIOUS.

Not terrible, but terribly bland, because it is severely lacking in true heartfelt drama.