“SHE SAID” - A masterpiece of investigative reporting depicts the triggers of #MeToo

The power of the great actress Samantha Morton and the sharpness of the ending

However, there are some breathtaking cinematic moments. In the middle of the film, reporter Jodi Kantor (played by Zoe Kazan) travels to London and meets one-on-one with a woman named Zelda Perkins. Zelda once worked as an assistant to Harvey Weinstein, and she confesses to the existence of a non-disclosure agreement to silence him and hands over important evidence to Kantor. Her tense words and facial expression make it painfully clear that she is determined to make her case to the world, even if it means risking breaking the contract.

Zelda is played by the renowned actress Samantha Morton, known for her roles in "The Guitarist " (1999) and "Morvan " (2002), and she only appears in this one scene. However, she speaks almost entirely by herself for the entire nine minutes, leaving the rest to Cantor before leaving. With her presence and realistic acting, she beautifully expresses the moment when the tide turned for Jodie and her team, who had been stuck in their reporting.

"She Said" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

The film trims and adapts the book, but adds elements not found in the book, such as Kantor's busy daily life juggling work and childcare, and Twohey's personal struggles with postpartum depression.

Lenkiewicz, who wrote the screenplay, told an interesting story in an interview with the British Film Academy. Annapurna and Plan B had acquired the film rights to Kantor and Twohey's book before it was published, and it was still being written when Lenkiewicz got involved. When he started working on the screenplay, there was no original book to refer to. Once a chapter was written, the draft was sent to Lenkiewicz.

Lenkiewicz begins by visiting Cantor and Twohey in their homes, observing their lives and listening to their stories. As mentioned above, Cantor and Twohey were careful not to put themselves at the forefront when writing "SHE SAID," but in the film, the women who are conducting their research have no choice but to become the protagonists. The depiction of the two women's daily lives not only shows the difficulties of research, but also succeeds in adding another layer to the work, that of the difficulties that working women face.

BAFTA Screenwriting Lecture Series: She Said Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Speaking of the cleverness of the adaptation, the way the story ends and the way the curtain is drawn are truly wonderful. I won't go into details here to avoid spoilers, but director Schrader and Lenkiewicz perfectly selected the moment that makes you think that this is the only way to end the film, even though it is visually unimpressive, that is exactly how journalism should be. I would like to declare that in terms of its sharpness, it is the best ending that rivals any masterpiece that has ever depicted investigative journalism.

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