'She Said' crackles as it chronicles reporters' efforts to reveal misdeeds of Hollywood giant | Movie review

Nov. 16—It's no surprise that every few years or so, a movie about movies becomes a serious contender for the Academy Award for best picture.

Folks in the film industry love narratives about the making of movies.

Similarly, journalists tend to love movies about journalism.

"All the President's Men" — the 1976 drama about the two Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate story — forever will be a favorite of many a journo.

For the person typing these words, it's 2015's "Spotlight," a dramatization of a Boston Globe investigative team's Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts to shed light on widespread sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests and the church's efforts to cover them up. It's as close to perfect as movies come.

So were we predisposed to liking "She Said," a drama hitting theaters this week about two New York Times reporters endeavoring to report on alleged sexual abuse — and subsequent payments made to victims to keep them quiet — by film-industry giant Harvey Weinstein? Without question.

Nevertheless, so many elements of this excellent chronicling of the dogged work of journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor are deserving of appreciation, from the respective performances of them by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan to the brisk-but-not-rushed pacing of director Maria Schrader to the purposeful storytelling of screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

Based on Twohey and Kantor's bestselling book, "She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement," the film introduces us to a pregnant Megan in 2016, as she's reporting on sexual-abuse claims made against then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.

Months later, Trump has been elected, and Megan is suffering from what may not be merely a case of postpartum depression.

Meanwhile, Jodi, a mother of two young girls, is digging into Weinstein. She's seeking to talk to actresses and other women who worked for him who may have been abused by the incredibly powerful man.

Upon her return to work, Megan is convinced to team with Jodi in part by then-Assistant Managing Editor Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson), who will most closely oversee work on the story.

And so we watch as Megan and Jodi pursue leads and hit what seem to be dead ends. And they are desperate to get actresses such as Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd — who portrays herself in the film — as well as lesser-known women to go on the record about their experiences with Weinstein.

But Weinstein is a large figure, both physically and figuratively, a producer of acclaimed films including "Pulp Fiction" and "Good Will Hunting" and the winner of multiple Oscars and won't go down easily. (Weinstein is heard in an actual recording made by a woman and portrayed in phone calls and from off angles by Mike Houston.)

Plus, the Times journalists learn they face competition for the story from writer Ronan Farrow working for The New Yorker, which published his piece a few days after the Times' article in October 2017.

As portrayed by Kazan ("The Plot Against America," "The Big Sick"), Jodi comes across as highly empathetic, listening to alleged victims with a face that conveys understanding and immense caring.

In the hands of Mulligan ("Promising Young Woman," "An Education"), Megan is a bit more intense, showing an ability to be tough with male sources when she wants information from them. (And you can't help but cheer a moment in which she absolutely tears into a man at a bar who won't leave Jodi, Rebecca and her alone as they attempt to put their heads together on the story. Read the room, dude.)

Along with Clarkson ("The Station Agent"), solid supporting work is turned in by Andre Braugher ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine"), as then-New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet; Samantha Morton ("In America"), as former Miramax employee Zelda Perkins; and especially, Jennifer Ehle ("Zero Dark Thirty"), as fellow Miramax employee Laura Madden, who is dealing with a personal crisis at the same time the reporters are attempting to bring up a traumatic time from her past.

According to its production notes, the film was the first feature of this size to be shot inside the actual Times newsroom, and the access to the building — during the novel coronavirus pandemic, when many staffers were working remotely — lends a real authenticity to "She Said." And while we may quibble with the fact we never see these reporters do actual work at their desks — they conduct all their calls and interviews on the go or at least by a window or in the breakroom, causing "She Said" to feel a bit at times like an episode of "Law & Order" — there's no denying Schrader ("I'm Your Man," "Unorthodox") has infused it with needed energy.

And given this is a movie entirely composed of scenes of people talking, it helps that the dialogue from Lenkiewicz crackles without ever being over-the-top. You won't find any Oscar-bait speeches here.

Does "She Said" reach the lofty heights of "All the President's Men" and "Spotlight." From here, no, but it comes pretty close.

Regardless, it tells a vital story, one that gave voice to women who deserved to be heard and that helped propel the #MeToo movement.

And as with the one told in "Spotlight," it's not simply about the abuser — Weinstein has since been convicted of third-degree rape and a criminal sexual act in New York and is on trial for rape in Los Angeles — but about a system that allowed for abuse.

'She Said'

Where: Theaters.

When: Nov. 18.

Rated: R for language and descriptions of sexual assault.

Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.5.