Movie Review: She Said

The "Me Too" Movement is now five years old. The phrase "Me Too" was coined in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke, but it was not until 2017 that actress Alyssa Milano was the first to urge all victims to share their experiences on social media. Then the movement exploded during a standup act with comedian Hannibal Burris who called Bill Cosby a rapist. The movement expanded even further with movie producer Harvey Weinstein - who is the subject of the new movie "She Said". The Me Too movement was a unique moment in history because many victims of sexual or work harassment, were given strength in numbers to come out against so many well-known celebrities. Many of these celebrities, including Matt Laurer, Kevin Spacey, and Bill O'Riley no longer have careers in their chosen profession. Several of these famous and formerly successful people have also faced legal prosecution.

A lowlife like Harvey Weinstein is simple to understand. He is ugly and throughout his life was rejected by women countless times. Over the years his hurt over being constantly rejected turned from depression to anger and then rage. It could be argued that Weinstein's huge success as a top movie producer could possibly be his unconscious way of getting even with so many good-looking women who rejected him. There is no better profession where an ugly man with power and influence could use his leverage to sexually harass women who desperately wanted to be an actress or wanted to stay in the highly competitive movie industry. Weinstein had the ability to make or break any woman's acting career including famous actresses, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan and even Ashley Judd. All 3 of these actresses are referenced or appear in this movie and have accused Harvey Weinstein of ruining their careers.

At the end of this film, due to the strength in numbers so many women were given due to the "Me Too" movement, 82 women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or rape. Weinstein is a person devoid of any empathy for any other human being. He is justifiably paying for decades of ruining the lives of so many people and will spend the rest of his life in jail. He is also a person who was at the top of the entertainment world and was called "A God" by Meryl Streep during a Golden Globes award ceremony a number of years ago (see video below). How times have changed. One amazing thing about men like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein is that they say that large numbers of women are all lying and they are telling the truth. How or why any lawyer would take their case is another mystery, apart from the legal representation they can afford.

This movie is mostly about a long series of interviews with a large number of Weinstein victims, including both actors and employees of his movie production company Miramax. She Said reminds me of the movie "All the Presidents Men", released in 1976 about the investigation and interviews leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon due to Watergate in August 1974. The stars of this story are Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan who play the real-life reporters of the New York Times Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who broke the Weinstein case, leading to him being convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Other actors in this very good drama include Andre Braugher and Patricia Clarkson who play executives of the New York Times. Weinstein still faces more trials in Los Angeles and London. Considering Weinstein is already going away for 23 years and is 70 years old, seems a waste of money to contest any of these cases.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for She Said are a very high 86% and I agree with this rating with a strong recommendation.