She Said

I tend to like movies with less action and more introspection and more “talkative.” Still, since I had read the book on this and saw other reports, I wondered if this might all seem like old news when I watched it. But I found out to be enthralling. I engaged with the lead characters and appreciated the excellent work of the secondary characters. For example, a quiet but strong portrayal of the partner of one of the reporters who seemed to be a reporter in his own right but who was supportive of her efforts. I felt they didn’t go for the melodramatic approach here as they well might have. They merely hinted about moments like one of them wondering if a car occupant was watching her, and used just one threatening phone call when they probably actually had many of them. It kept the story cleaner and moving forward. She Said reminded me of All the Presidents Men, with the two investigative reporters being held to a standard of having sufficient sources to back up their reporting but where Woodward and Bernstein seemed mostly concerned with holding people accountable for their illegal actions, the journalists in she Said connected and formed a personal bond with the victims they located and encouraged to speak out.