SHE SAID

She Said feels like a by-the-numbers take on an explosive subject and only truly comes alive in a handful of one-off sequences with scene stealers Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton.

One of my all-time favourite movies is All The President's Men, which immediately puts every other movie about journalism on the back foot, because let's be honest: how can you compete?

In the case of She Said comparisons are inevitable though, because the film - about two journalists who uncover the trail of abuse left behind by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein - follows the structure of the seventies masterpiece nearly beat for beat. Curiously this doesn't make the picture equally engaging, as the sense of urgency needed to pull that off is just not there, while the addition of various subplots about the lead journalists' personal lives regularly grinds the film to a jarring halt.

Another, related, flaw is the forced emotional reaction stars Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan have to almost every single encounter with one of Weinstein's victims. She Said thus unfortunately feels like a by-the-numbers take on an explosive subject and only truly comes alive in a handful of one-off sequences with scene stealers Jennifer Ehle and - especially - Samantha Morton, who deserves a place in this year's Oscar race for her fierce supporting turn.

release: 2022

director: Maria Schrader

starring: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton