She Said: Maria Schrader's stunning revisitation into the Harvey Weinstein expose is a masterpiece on the MeToo movement

Any shred of sympathy that you may harbour for Harvey Weinstein —and I confess after hearing about how he was dying in prison, I did feel a little sorry for the monster—is  effectually and tellingly erased by She Said, Maria Schrader’s stunning revisitation into the Weinstein expose. After the very disappointing Bombshell recreating the movement that took down the CNN boss Roger Aisles, I had become wary of all MeToo films. Wary no more! She Said digs into the probe against Harvey Weinstein . And comes up, as expected, with filth and dirt. The initial probe was undertaken by two doughty journalists from New York Times- Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. They are played with a refreshing absence of self-congratulations by  Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan. I rate these two actresses as among the most vital acting talent in America’s contemporary cinema. In She Said, they play super-heroes without caps and italics. Throughout, there is an eminently  likeable  spirit  of a job being done, no matter how dirty. I would like to think that journalists would love Mulligan and Kazan’s combined expose more than others. But that won’t be the truth. She Said is compelling to anyone who has  conscience. And  to anyone who has ever been compromised by a power-hungry creep. How could  this movie-making monster get away  with harassing and  abusing so many women for so long?  This question has never seemed  more pertinent as our two investigative journalists travel far and  wide, bringing to the table that  heroic feeling of  Kane & Abel. I like how director Marie Schrader (herself an  actress of  great repute) brings in the  home life  of Kantor and Twohey without making them look like martyrs  and  saints. Sure, it’s a tough life exposing someone as  powerful as  Harvey Weinstein. Kanor and Twohey are  relentless. They nail the wrongdoer so  deftly it seems like a triumph for all humanity She Said is a great film, as it doesn’t aspire to greatness. There is a story to tell. And the film does it with the least amount of hullabaloo. I love the matter-of-fact tone  and the brusque manner  in which  the two journalists go about the  business of meeting the wronged women. Many of these episodes remain traumatic to  us, for the sheer enormity  of  the crime. Schrader’s film plunges into Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s excellent screenplay, looking not for smut but the  truth. If She Said is such a great film it is for its ability to create a balance between  the truth and the lies without taking sides. Some of the real-life victims are here. One episode with Ashley Judd playing herself would give you goosebumps:  she makes  the horror of the assault seem like  it’s happening in front  of our eyes.  For reasons best known to the screenwriter one of the assaulted women Laura Madden(played with poignant rage  by  Jennifer Ehle) is given a pivotal peg in the plot .Laura’s  journey from innocence to  assault  is heartbreaking. So glad Weinstein is where he belongs. But what about the Harvey Weinsteins of Bollywood who are strutting around fearlessly?

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.