‘She Said’ Screens to Mostly Positive Notices at NYFF

UPDATED: “She Said” screened at NYFF. The embargo has lifted. Reactions are all over the place. I believe this film’s best shot will probably be a Carey Mulligan push for Supporting Actress.

THR likes it, so does The Guardian’s Adrian Horton. Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson, The Wrap’s Ross Lincoln and Variety’s Owen Gleiberman are mixed to positive.

Paste Magazine, The Daily Beast, Slash Film are negative.

Many of these reviews just can’t help but compare it to “Spotlight.” Is that what we’re going to do now after every journalism-based film gets released? Forcibly mention and compare to “Spotlight”? It used to be that “All the Presidents Men” was the go-to point of reference.

All of this to say that if you actually want to watch a great movie about Weinstein’s predatorial behavior then it has to be Kitty Green’s brilliantly minimalist “The Assistant.” It’s the ballsier and more artful tackling of the Weinstein story. Sadly, it was released right at the start of the pandemic and got buried amidst the chaos.

EARLIER: The next few days will give us a better picture of the Oscar race ahead. Maria Schrader’s “She Said” screens on Thursday morning for NYFF press and then has its world premiere during the evening.

I’ll be updating this post once “She Said” reactions start trickling in tomorrow. The film hasn’t been seen by many. The film test-screened in August to generally favourable reactions. Here’s one that I had originally posted:

“Better than a TV movie. Not sure about Best Picture, but Samantha Mortonand Carey Mulligan are the MVPs. Very intelligently made and well-directed. They smartly show the effect of the abuse. Victims go back to the hotel rooms, reenact what happened in the bed and shower, but with their clothes on. It’s very Spotlight, maybe too much so. It also has a fantastic ending. We never get to see Weinstein’s face, only see his back and hear his voice.”

The trailer for the investigative journalism drama, which tells the story of how New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey nailed Harvey Weinstein, hinted at something alongs the lines of “Spotlight.” What I’m wondering is why this film didn’t screen at any of the big three festivals (Venice, Telluride, Toronto).

We know that THR’s resident awards expert, Scott Feinberg, has seen “She Said” and even included it in his Best Picture predictions. The film has also been selectively screening in Los Angeles these past few weeks, the reactions have been mixed-to-positive.

Schrader’s film needed films to disappoint at the fall fests, and, now that that exact scenario has occurred, the door is wide open for “She Said” to pounce on the opportunity. It does, however, need great reviews. Generally positive ones, ala “Till,” wont be enough for a potential Best Picture nomination.

I’m also hearing that Carey Mulligan will be campaigned as Supporting actress and is far likelier to be nominated than her co-star Zoe Kazan.