'She Said': Harvey Weinstein Movie Oscar Chances

Harvey Weinstein was a monster. He was a sexual predator who used his position of power in Hollywood to harass and assault dozens of women. But there was also a system in place that shielded him from repercussions, one that relied on enablers and enforcers who protected Weinstein and allowed him to continue his pattern of exploitation. And there were also plenty of people who preferred to look the other way rather than acknowledge the possibility that Weinstein was a serial sexual abuser.  

“She Said,” Maria Schrader’s taut new thriller, may be one of the most important movies to hit Hollywood in decades because it dares to ask about the entertainment business’ culpability in Weinstein’s crimes. And that doesn’t just mean the studio executives and publicists who did Weinstein’s dirty work or who opted to work with him in order to keep winning Oscars and reaping box office rewards. No, that also means the journalists and news organizations who may have heard horror stories about the movie mogul and decided it would be too difficult to try to expose the truth.   

Oscar and industry voters, many of whom once socialized with and respected the kind of intelligently made drama and foreign films that Weinstein released at Miramax and later the Weinstein Company, may have the uncomfortable feeling of staring in a mirror when they watch “She Said.” After all, winning Academy Awards was the source of Weinstein’s power. His enviable track record of releasing award winners like “The English Patient” (1997), “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) and “The King’s Speech” (2010) made big stars and major filmmakers want to work with him. And the successful films that they made together led to the box office rewards that made Weinstein rich, influential and able to deploy armies of lawyers and spinsters to clean up his messes.  

Schrader, who helmed the 2021 official German Oscar submission “I’m Your Man,” makes her English-language directorial debut. She ratchets up the tension — an impressive feat considering we know how the story ends — and deserves to be in the best director conversation.   

It would be wonderful to see Schrader vying for the prize alongside other female directors, such as Chinonye Chukwu (“Till”), Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”). All of these filmmakers are tackling subjects where the resiliency and strength of women are featured prominently. If we are lucky enough to have these four female filmmakers and their movies in the best picture and director lineups, it would be quite a fitting rebuke to Weinstein and Weinstein-ism.

In one of the opening scenes of the film, Megan Twohey, played vibrantly by Carey Mulligan, is interviewing one of the women to come forward in 2016 and speak out regarding abuse she suffered by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. She asks the journalist if Trump comes after her in the court system, could the New York Times help her with legal services? Twohey morbidly responds, “News organizations cannot provide legal services.” 

The specific line perfectly encapsulates the stark choices that any assault survivor must face when asked to go on the record. They are on their own, at least legally speaking. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s crackling script, based on the book by Kantor and Twohey of the same name, displays the ruthless journey and emotional toll that bringing important stories like these to the surface can take.  

The cast simply sizzles, with every actor making the most of their moments despite limited screen time. Kazan and Mulligan are always engaging, with the former campaigning for best actress, and the latter in supporting (and yes, that’s category fraud because they are co-leads).

“She Said” contains Kazan’s finest work yet, but she’s probably not going to land a nomination. Best actress is the toughest category to crack in 2023, with Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Danielle Deadwyler, (“Till”) Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Michelle Yeoh “Everything Everywhere All At Once”) all likely to make the grade. Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) and Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”) are also in the mix and have showier roles than Kazan’s understated turn.

Mulligan will have a much easier time trying to elbow into the supporting actress category. She’s a two-time nominee for “An Education” (2009) and “Promising Young Woman” (2020), and she has some standout scenes, bringing her character’s struggle with postpartum depression to vivid life. Unfortunately, her campaign plan in supporting all but dooms the chances of some of the two standout actresses. Those would be Jennifer Ehle as a former Miramax employee, wrestling with speaking out, and Samantha Morton as another staffer who refuses to be silenced. Morton is also astounding in “The Whale,” making the most of one scene in that film as well.  

Noteworthy is Andre Braugher as The New York Times’ Dean Baquet, who may be short on screen time but makes an indelible impression in two key scenes, in which he demonstrates how to handle bullying and fluff tactics of the disgraced studio mogul.

Looking at the technical categories, there seems to be a pathway for only one or two possibilities. Nicholas Britell’s tantalizing music is another nom-worthy composition that stands tall next to his recognized works for “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.” The editing by Hansjörg Weißbrich is evenly paced, but some of the reactions out of NYFF and Middleburg cited a “clunky” feeling with the film. It may divide folks. 

Read: the latest predictions, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.

The ultimate question… will the Academy go for “She Said” or will it be too tough to watch? Oscars flip for movies that paint the industry in a glowing, affectionate light. Just look at past nominees and winners such as “Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood,” “Hugo,” “La La Land,” “Cinema Paradiso” and “The Artist” (the latter brought to you by Weinstein). In “She Said,” Hollywood does not come off so great.  

Plus, Universal, the studio behind “She Said,” will also be juggling this campaign with “The Fabelmans” from Steven Spielberg. That movie, a warm-hearted, slightly sepia-tinted look at the legendary filmmaker’s childhood, will be easier to digest than the downfall of Weinstein and the great reckoning it triggered in Hollywood. 

Hopefully, that’s not the case. Like “Spotlight” (2015) and “All the President’s Men” (1976), “She Said” is a vital reminder of the role that the press can play in aiding the powerless and holding the powerful accountable.