Bombshell

Since the story of allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein erupted, more and more harassment cases are being unearthed, as women bond together to say enough is enough. It also exposes the hush hush culture and environment of high profiled industries, as more women speak up against their abusers, leading to investigations, settlements, and court cases to get justice for the abused. One high profiled case was the Fox News scandal, where news anchor Gretchen Carlson files a lawsuit against then CEO Roger Ailes back in 2016. The lawsuit ruptured the news cycle, as more women stepped out with similar claims, including news anchor Megyn Kelly, who was one of the more famous faces of Fox News. This is a dramatization of the events. I didn’t read much about the scandal’s details beyond the film’s context, so all my thoughts will be pertaining to the film and not to the actual events. (Spoilers)

The film’s main theme was rooted in the mistreatment of women by highly powerful men. It focuses on three characters leading separate lives, despite working in the same industry - Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson, and Kayla Pospisil, a composite character for the dramatization. They were also at different points of their careers. Kelly has been front and center of the news, even moderating panels during the debates, with her opinions earning the ire of then-presidential candidate, which in turn lambasted her on social media, with his followers sending in threatening notes and invading much of her privacy. Carlson has been demoted to an afternoon slot that doesn’t get much viewers. Kayla used to work under Carlson’s team but had gunned for a promotion in hopes of becoming a news anchor herself. 

The first half of the film establishes the role Kayla was devised to play - a representation of the unjustifiable display of power that was still prevalent and at play. While Kayla’s was in form of a physical manifestation, Kelly was dealing with a slaughter of emotional abuse brought about by social media after she deigned to make a remark on how the presidential candidate treated women. It culminates to an interview where her husband points out that she basically gave the candidate a pass. The plot eventually picks up halfway through the film, when the case gets filed, and spends the rest of the film tackling the aftermath. The hush hush nature takes place, as while there were rumors and names, none seem to want to speak out. Instead they deflect, answering questions that seem to be in solidarity with Roger Ailes, going even as far as cornering Kelly to showing her solidarity with their CEO. 

I don’t know much about the actual people involved in the scandal, but for the film, Charlize Theron gave a great performance as the lead character. She was level-headed and reserved, never bordering on hysterics even when her fellow co-workers were starting to be on her face a lot - that includes the group of people she’s usually surrounded in. Margot Robbie also gives a fantastic performance in her arc. I liked the friendship she had going with Kate McKinnon’s character, and while their arc played a small part in the production, I would have liked her character to have been expounded on. Nicole Kidman's performance, though a good one, doesn't stand out. Considering that she is at the center of the second half of the film, I would have expected a memorable stance from her. The film also had quite a bit of known faces playing various reporters and supporting characters. I think the film was going for resemblance because unless the supporting character had more than three lines, everyone else was featured as a stand-in for a certain tv personality or reporter.

While the film goes far to show the message of the #MeToo movement - that women are not alone in their fight - the film itself was a bit lackluster. I don’t expect this to be sensationalist, but as a film based on a scandal in a contained environment (environment being Fox News), I would have expected a bit of a kick. The film sometimes appears disjointed, but maybe it was because none of the women really socialize outside their work team. Even their co-workers rarely socialize outside of their team; their relationships were so contained that in trying to provide a unified flow for the film, it appears haphazardly edited together. We also don’t get much from the film beyond the narrative. I think a much in depth look, as well as the succeeding events in the aftermath of Carlson’s case would have made for further content. While the film ends with a narration of what happened, I wonder why the film narrative didn’t include Bill O’Reilly in the presentation. He was just mentioned but never really expounded on. 

Overall, it was a well-made dramatization, but it was at surface level. It was on message but seemed detached at the same time.