‘Al descubierto’ (She said, 2022) is a new journalistic film that Universal premieres on December 28. Directed by Maria Schrader and adapted from the book ‘She Said’ by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, has been produced among others by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B and covers the investigation of sexual harassment in Hollywood that unmasked the North American producer Harvey Weinstein and part of the structure that allowed its modus operandi.
Starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazantells how the New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor published an article in 2017 that broke with decades of silence about the misdeeds of the Miramax owner. A drama that he elaborates from the point of view of the journalists, adapting the report signed by both about the history of harassment, abuse and sexual assault of the producer who was for years under the protection of Hollywood giants.
Journalism as a lever against silence
‘Uncovered’ scratches for being very contemporary, adapting events that occurred only five years ago, dealing with a difficult subject, because it does not stop focusing on issues of sexual assault and male violence against women who continue to have a voice in the case, and dealing with a powerful person who though was sentenced to 23 years in prison on charges of sexual assault and third-degree rape, it belongs to an organic and latent structure that is not without a certain shared responsibility that has never been recognized.
The film opens with a non-dialogue scene in Ireland in 1992, where a young woman walking along the coast stumbles upon a vintage filming location with 18th century soldiers and old wooden boats, shortly after there is a cut, and the we see her running down a street, distraught, as if she were being chased. A sequence that prepares for what we are going to see, the story of many of these women who have secretly macerated trauma for 25 years. A promising start, but what gives way to the ABC of the cinema of journalists and more familiar cases.
We have a dilemma to solve and expose to the public, two intelligent, stubborn, and persistent protagonists to investigate it, and a ball of hair that unravels by digging in the right places. We add advice from lawyers and legal difficulties that must be faced face to face and ‘Out in the open’ is not much different from other stories based on real life events What ‘All the president’s men‘ (1976) and ‘Spotlight’ (2015), although the comparison is not very flattering.
A case that still has a tail
The movie doesn’t have too much tension, because we all know from the news how the story of Kantor and Twohey ends, so attention falls on the work of the protagonists Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulliganwho here offers a more mature extension of her role in ‘A Promising Young Woman’, managing to convey a lot of history with her eyes, indicating that her character has a special connection to the case for reasons that leave much to the imagination.
It is perhaps most interesting from a women-centered point of view that sometimes gives the impression of being reduced to having to balance his life with the demanding side of work, in which it is constantly stressed that they are mothers. A somewhat reductionist element that is balanced by the perspective regarding the victims they interview, who most of the time are indeed mothers as well. The most significant moment in this thematic zone is when Mulligan’s character confronts her motherhood, as if bringing out the horrors she deals with on a daily basis.
‘Uncovered’ is subtle in this regard, hinting that the reason why one of the main witnesses decides to show his face is his relationship with his daughters, and the importance of childhood innocence with respect to the damage that occurs at ages not so mature It’s no coincidence that all we see are girls. And in this respect the film is impeccable, spending a lot of time focusing on Weinstein’s victims, from high-profile celebrities to the likes of Zelda Perkins and Rowena Chuwhose stories are left on the sidelines in discussions of sexual assault in the industry.
Giving voice to anonymous women
The script makes sure to raise the voices of the most vulnerableconveying the fear that Weinstein was capable of instilling, the impact of his conduct, both professionally and emotionally, and the bond between the women as they shared their stories, with some haunting images of his voice-over statements on images of the places in which the various assaults took place, perhaps more powerful than any graphic recreation they could have depicted.
Despite the importance of these less recognized voices, there is a great space for the stories of Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd, who portrays herself in a strange metacinematic moment, which makes us connect with the close echo of the moment but also makes it an opportunistic company. It should be noted that the film’s producers include Brad Pitt, who tried to confront Weinstein when he was dating Gwyneth Paltrowwith whom the producer seems especially obsessed at the time of declaring to the newspaper.
The premise explores various sensitive topics, such as misogyny, racism, sexual assault and the different ways in which people in positions of power can get what they want thanks to a system hierarchical by capitalism. We don’t get more than a vague glimpse of Weinstein, but his presence is still present on audiotapes or phone calls. The fact that his second trial is currently taking place in Los Angeles adds a real dimension to his appearance.
a hasty record
‘Uncovered’ also deals with confidentiality agreements and other means of coercion to silence potential accusers, which allowed the Hollywood mogul to continue acting with impunity, but he has not just scratched the juiciest idea that flies over at times of investigation, the responsibility of the greats to try to cover up the misdeeds of their bad apple. Let’s not forget that Miramax was acquired by Disney in 1993, not long after some of the assaults that appear collected.
Kantor and Twohey each won Pulitzer Prizes for their work on the story that exposed detailed accounts of Weinstein’s abuse and other incidents but there is a certain self-congrutulatory tone in the featto the point where Ronan Farrow’s work is mentioned but shockingly underappreciated, not only because he got there first, but because he had to deal with NBC News blackouts before publishing his piece in the New Yorker.
‘Uncovered’ is informative, but it fails when it tries to resemble the great journalistic political thrillers of the 70s, with timid attempts to create danger, with anecdotal scenes of cars following the protagonists that have no continuity to create a sense of threat. Either way, it’s an informative and relevant testament to a chronicle of a fall that helped heighten surveillance and helped several high-profile Hollywood figures like Les Moonves, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer or Brett Ratner were neutralized after dozens of complaints.