TMS Movie Review: She Said
(Annapurna Pictures / Universal Pictures)
Only two weeks into release and Maria Schrader’s She Said is already being called the biggest flop of 2022. This is a dialogue heavy docudrama on two journalists trying to break through the secret abuse of power and complicity young women experienced behind the scenes working at Miramax Films. Naturally the budget is not large [reportedly $32M], so the fact that it’s only made a mere $7M since November 18th, is hugely disappointing for any studio. For seemingly various reasons, people don’t want to see Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play real-life reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor take down studio head Harvey Weinstein. It’s way too soon since #metoo and the Weinstein scandals originally blew up in autumn 2017, and the man is still on trial right now. No one wants to watch two bleak hours of women sharing and coming to terms with their personal trauma, as important as it is, and especially during the holidays. Brad Pitt listed as an EP in the credits of She Said feels hypocritical currently with his own allegations, plus many already felt the original concept of Hollywood making a movie on their own direct controversies was too on-the-nose.
When I went into She Said, I was already prepared to have a snarky response to the tone-deaf timing and hypocrisy. But surprisingly, I’m actually leaning more toward the crowd who are praising it, though modestly. My big fear when the trailer first dropped was having to hear Mulligan’s almost grating vocal fry as Twohey for a whole feature film. But fortunately, her faux American accent is fine and natural sounding as it usually is when the Brit plays Americans. Both Mulligan and Kazan are good as our leads, the former is particularly at the top of her game in both the investigative scenes and at home when we see her as a mother and wife. I do like that Twohey and Kantor are career women raising families and not the usual cliché of working women being job oriented and only interested in casual sex. The rest of the She Said cast includes respected actresses Patricia Clarkson, Samantha Morton and Jennifer Ehle, as well as Andre Braugher and Zach Grenier, all of whom deliver.
(Annapurna Pictures / Universal Pictures)
Schrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz fancy their news drama along the lines of Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men (1976) and Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight (2015); although the script and direction are the weakest aspects of She Said. Similar to my original feelings about Spotlight, a lot of She Said [and journalism themed films generally speaking] look and feel like a cable TV movie more than actually cinematic. You could argue the same about President’s Men [as well as how soon Pakula’s classic was released following Watergate], but at least that movie is old enough that it feels like it’s from a totally different time period. There’s also only so much you can make visually interesting with a story set in various buildings and offices.
I don’t think She Said is bad or even mediocre, even with its faults. I do think this was the absolutely wrong time to release it though, and the potential success of Schrader’s film would have benefitted from just waiting another 5-10 years after all the attention and consensus has settled. Or possibly creating something like Kitty Green’s The Assistant (2019), an indie drama on showbiz misconduct and complicity, which is clearly inspired by real events, but ultimately fiction. But as it stands now, She Said feels just a little too redundant and awkward for audiences.