‘She Said’ is a powerful film adaptation of one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood. It tells the story of the 2017 New York Times investigation into film producer Harvey Weinstein, which followed months of research and confidential discussions with actresses and former Weinstein employees.
It is based on the 2019 book of the same name by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor – the New York Times journalists who joined forces and exposed one of the most powerful men in Hollywood for his long history of sexual misconduct and abuse against women spanning three decades.
Weinstein had been accused of assault by over 80 women, including high-profile celebrities such as Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Lupita Nyong’o, who all bravely opened up about their harrowing experiences at the hands of Weinstein, which resulted in him being found guilty of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020.
Twohey and Kantor’s work not only exposed the abuse that women faced in their dealings with the then film producer and the subsequent cover ups, but it also broke the wall of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood as a whole and was a catalyst for the ground-breaking global #MeToo movement, which saw women all over the world sharing their stories of sexual harassment and assault.
The film stars two-time Oscar nominee and winner of the Best Actress BAFTA Carey Mulligan as Megan Twohey and Zoe Kazan as Jodi Kantor, along with Samantha Morton from ‘The Walking Dead’, Keilly McQuail from ‘Orange is the New Black’ and Tom Pelphrey from ‘Ozark’.
Since the scandal, there have been tangible changes within the film industry, such as the requirement to have an intimacy coordinator on set for any scene that requires nudity or scenes of a sexual nature. Carey Mulligan also hopes the film will open further dialogue around sensitive topics and further changes that can be made to ensure those in positions of power can no longer abuse systems for their own gain.
She says: “From my layman’s perspective, the most important impact, thus far, of the #MeToo movement being propelled by the story is the channels of communication that have been opened up for people to talk about things. For men and women to talk about experiences like this and I think it wasn’t possible in the same way five years ago. And I think that can only be a positive step in continuing this conversation. I don’t know if films can change the world. But I do think art plays a part and telling a story in a different way that perhaps is accessible to people is a part of it.”
Watch the trailer here:
‘She Said’ opens in UK cinemas on Friday 25th November.
