Bombshell - La voce dello scandalo

Despite a couple of Oscar nominations for acting, "Bombshell" was greeted pretty indifferently by audiences and critics alike when it came out last year. Perhaps it was due to my low expectations, then, but I was surprised by how much I liked this movie. It's slick and glib and fairly superficial, but it's extremely watchable and very entertaining, and the acting is indeed exceptional. Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie were singled out for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nominations, respectively. But I was as impressed with Nicole Kidman and John Lithgow.

In this tale of women coming out against sexual harassment, "Bombshell" conveniently sidesteps the fact that these particular women were contributing to an atmosphere of male toxicity by peddling Fox News' message in the first place. But to address that would have been to make the entire screenplay more complex, and it would have interfered with the filmmakers' wish to portray these women as unequivocal heroes of the MeToo Movement.

The makeup crew for this film worked over time to transform attractive Hollywood actors and actresses into already attractive people like Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, and not so attractive people like Roger Ailes and a spot-on Bill O'Reilly, and won an Oscar for their efforts.

Grade: B+

July 2016. Gretchen Carlson was once one of the most popular presenters on Fox News but now has been relegated to minor timeslot. She is considering suing Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment and when she is let go by Fox, she does so. She tries to get other women to come forward but gains little traction. Megyn Kelly, another Fox reporter, has her own secrets regarding Ailes but is not sure whether she should come forward. Kayla, a junior reporter, has more recent experiences of the matter.

I set my expectations quite low, figuring it was just going to be a left-wing hatchet job. Not that that I'm a supporter of Fox News, far from it. (I hate every media organisation equally. That's my kind of fair and balanced). No, it just would have been too one-dimensional and predictable.

To my surprise, director Jay Roach has crafted a reasonably balanced view of the Gretchen Karlson-Roger Ailes saga. His past credits would have given an indication of his ability to tackle a politically-charged subject and yet present it an even-handed fashion and engage a wide audience. He directed Recount (2008), covering the 2000 US election, Game Change (2012), covering the Vice Presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin, Trumbo (2015), the biopic on the blacklisted McCarthy-era writer and All the Way (2016), covering President Lyndon Johnson's struggles to have the Civil Rights Act passed. All of these are excellent films.

Once again Roach takes us on an engaging, evolving journey without becoming too biased in the process. In the beginning Ailes is even painted in a reasonably non-negative light, as a tough but fair, hugely successful, businessman who stands by his employees. Starting from a position of neutrality means you don't have any biases as the plot develops.

Roach's deft direction is helped by a star-studded cast that delivers in spades. Great work from Charlize Theron (as Megyn Kelly), Nicole Kidman (as Gretchen Carlson), Margot Robbie (as Kayla) and John Lithgow (as Roger Ailes) in the main roles. Theron got a Best Actress Oscar nomination and Robbie a Best Supporting Actress nomination for their efforts. The remaining cast, which includes Alison Janney, Malcolm McDowell (as Rupert Murdoch), Connie Britton and Stephen Root, don't put a foot wrong.

Quite a complex story which highlights the difficulty of a class-action lawsuit. The need to get others to go public before she did was Megyn Kelly's Achilles heel - she didn't have the guts to go first. Gretchen Carlson was the real hero and Roger Ailes endless and bullish denial was typical.

The financial settlement for him exceeded the victims which is the true bombshell here.

It takes courage to place this true story before the public at this time of the political climate during debates by presidential candidates and retorts from the sitting president who is famous for his association with Fox News. Charles Randolph (The Big Short, and The Life of David Gale) has written a penetrating screenplay about the 2016 explosion when Fox News persona Roger Ailes was finally exposed for sexual harassment by some courageous women. Director Jay Roach (Trumbo, Blown Away, Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, etc) makes this story come vividly to life, unafraid to insert film clips of Donald Trump's appearances as the case unfolds, as well as including the lesbian relationships that give the story a new grounding.

The story of this Fox News scandal is true, so everyone knows the outline. As one distillation states, 'When Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) slaps Fox News founder Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) with a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, not a soul could predict what would happen next. Her decision leads to Fox News correspondent Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) coming forward with her own story, as well as multiple other women, such as Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), inciting a movement that reverberates around the world.'

The cast is outstanding: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie each excel, but the other women in the film - Allison Janney, Connie Britton, Liv Hewson, Kate McKinnon, and Brigette Lundy-Paine - also impress. John Lithgow is very appropriately repugnant as Roger Ailes, as is Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch, and the clips of Giuliani, Trump et al. The tension never lets up as this scandal is related in fine form. Not only is the film excellent (though some may prefer the Showtime series THE LOUDEST VOICE account of the scandal), but also it offers award winning quality performances that allow the actors to step into different territories.

I won't write too much because it doesn't seem to me that anyone is reviewing this film. If you're right wing, you don't like it and will condemn any review that compliments it, and vice versa.

I thought the acting was terrific but I have to agree with one reviewer here, the real story was about Gretchen Carlson, and there was less emphasis on her and more on Megyn Kelly. Carlson is the one who really put herself out there.

I haven't seen the film others are comparing this to, "The Loudest Voice," but I would be interested in seeing it.