What a monumentally frustrating film! You have the timely, important, and emotionally gut wrenching subject of sexual abuse of women by powerful men in the workplace and the film makers, director Maria Schrader and scenarist Rebecca Lenkiewicz, spend two hours and ten minutes awkwardly trying to fit it into the jammed slot of the crusading journalist sub genre instead of the workplace drama category where it belongs. The upshot, as could have been foretold, is a slow, faintly dull movie where we know as much or more about the NY Times reporters, Megan Twohey and Jody Kantor, as we do about the victims of Harvey Weinstein's cruelty and lust for power over his female employees. As a result, the film becomes too much of an infomercial for the NY Times, much like its precursor, "All The President's Men", was an ad for the Washington Post, with lots of establishing shots of the Gray Lady's headquarters as well as the obvious and clumsy visual contrast, also lifted from "Men", of the clean well lighted office space of the newspaper versus Miramax's moral darkness.
There are many extended moments when this film comes alive. These center on interviews with Weinstein's victims, all of whom are women except for two quite haunting scenes at a cavernous, downtown restaurant with the Deep Throat of this film, Miramax's chief accountant, Irwin Reiter, well played by Zach Grenier, of "Deadwood" and "Zodiac" fame. It is only in these interviews that the abused are allowed to take center stage and recount, in harrowing detail, the emotional and physical toll working for their ex boss has taken on them. As the two main interviewees Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton give performances that start at riveting and end at brilliant. Both should (and one definitely will, in my opinion), garner Oscar nominations for supporting actor.
But then, following each interview, we return to our Two Intrepid, Spunky Reporters with their adoring husbands, wise children, and problems (like postpartum depression) that magically disappear as they crusade for truth and you can almost hear the hissing, not of the audience but rather the air being let out of the dramatic balloon. And, despite the very annoying, portentious score, one never feels that Ms. Twohey or Ms. Kantor are in the slightest danger. While the women who are in danger are slighted. Give it a C plus.
PS...Memo to Ms. Lenkiewicz: When you have an actor of Patricia Clarkson's skills you really ought to give her a character to play.
There are many extended moments when this film comes alive. These center on interviews with Weinstein's victims, all of whom are women except for two quite haunting scenes at a cavernous, downtown restaurant with the Deep Throat of this film, Miramax's chief accountant, Irwin Reiter, well played by Zach Grenier, of "Deadwood" and "Zodiac" fame. It is only in these interviews that the abused are allowed to take center stage and recount, in harrowing detail, the emotional and physical toll working for their ex boss has taken on them. As the two main interviewees Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Morton give performances that start at riveting and end at brilliant. Both should (and one definitely will, in my opinion), garner Oscar nominations for supporting actor.
But then, following each interview, we return to our Two Intrepid, Spunky Reporters with their adoring husbands, wise children, and problems (like postpartum depression) that magically disappear as they crusade for truth and you can almost hear the hissing, not of the audience but rather the air being let out of the dramatic balloon. And, despite the very annoying, portentious score, one never feels that Ms. Twohey or Ms. Kantor are in the slightest danger. While the women who are in danger are slighted. Give it a C plus.
PS...Memo to Ms. Lenkiewicz: When you have an actor of Patricia Clarkson's skills you really ought to give her a character to play.