Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B+
Cinematography: B
Editing: B

Harvey Weinstein appears as a character in She Said, but only a few times, only briefly, and only ever from behind—always instead focusing on the women speaking to him, or in this case, interviewing him. We never even see him in a single one of the relatively few genuine flashback scenes, in which we learn about the horrible things he did to young women in Hollywood. This is all absolutely as it should be, because fuck that guy.

That is very much the overtone of She Said, even as it focuses entirely on the investigative reporting at the New York Times that ultimately brought him down. Director Maria Schrader takes a quietly revolutionary approach to the storytelling here, never once recreating the trauma of these women or having us be direct witness to it. Instead, the film is full of characters simply talking to the two women reporters who are the main protagonists of this story, Megan Twohey and Joi Kantor (Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, respectively), offering first-hand accounts of their experiences.

This puts an unusual spin on the storytelling mantra of “show, don’t tell.” In this context, none of this is exposition. Seeing these women, in virtually every case retelling their story many years after the fact, and the emotional toll still taken on them—that is precisely the point. Although the story here all revolves around Weinstein, at one point a woman says, “This is bigger than Weinstein,” and it’s an assertion that remains apt. Weinstein may be serving 23 years in prison now, but what about all the guys out there just like him who aren’t?

The fame of many of the actors who helped bring him down has great relevance here. Nothing discounts how they were victimized, but there is still privilege in the reach of their voices, something unknown women don’t have. It’s insane that it took literally decades for even the famous ones to be believed, but they were still the key element in getting the story reported.

One of them in particular: Ashley Judd, whose career is now widely known to have been derailed by Weinstein because of her rebuffing him. There is some poetic justice in seeing her play herself in the film, telling her own story in her own words, hammering home the reality of what happened. That said, I did occasionally get distracted by strange details when she appeared onscreen: how much of this is dramatized for effect? Did she really talk to the New York Times while sitting at her desk looking out her beautiful apartment overlooking the park? I suppose if she had actually been laying on the couch in sweats and eating potato chips, that wouldn’t have been as cinematic.

Which brings me to this point: a great many scenes in She Said are set in the New York Times news room and offices, as anyone would expect. It sometimes feels like this movie is going for a bit of an All the President’s Men vibe, which it never quite reaches. A lot of the news room scenes are a bit sapped of energy.

Luckily, a deep well of talent is still involved in the making of this movie, which quite rightly centers women both in front of and behind the camera—the script was written by a woman, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, based on the book of the same name by aforementioned women reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twhohey, which itself was based on their own New York Times investigated, co-authored also by Rebecca Corbett. The cinematographer (Natasha Braier), the production designer (Meredith Lippincott), the costume designer (Brittany Loar), the set decorator (Philippa Culpepper)—all women. Five of the eight credited producers are women, including all three executive producers.

And then there’s the cast: Patricia Clarkson as one of the news room bosses; Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton, both phenomenal in supporting parts as Weinstein survivors; even real-life survivor Sarah Ann Masse was cast in a small part. Many of the interview scenes are riveting, and She Said really gets compelling once we start to see a collection of accounts in their entirety. Then, even though we already know the end result, the nail biter becomes if and when key women will come forward, on the record.

As for Mulligan and Kazan themselves, they are . . . fine. I have long been impressed with Mulligan’s talent in particular, but she is definitely more successful in her native British accent; at times you can feel her working to speak like an American. Both of them have been far better in other films, but then, these parts aren’t designed to get them Oscars. She Said is a very procedural film, and so if you’re into that, this film will be very satisfying. For many, it was understandably just important to get this story told in as many mediums as possible. For the rest of us, it’s just deeply fulfilling to see the manner in which one of the worst men ever to move through Hollywood get ruined.

*A satisfying moment of seeing Harvey Weinstein get shut down—without even having to look at him.*

Overall: B+