Three women make the difficult decision to speak out about experiencing sexual harassment at the hands of their boss, media mogul and Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. Ailes subjected women to workplace harassment and instilled a deep fear of professional consequences, but they find that their voices may be most powerful off the air.
This film frustrated and angered me, which I believe means that it did its job. A very pertinent film to our present times, Bombshell details a true story of sexual harassment in the workplace, bluntly portraying the dirty and demoralising deeds that take place behind the curtain.
One of the most compelling stories of the #MeToo movement is told unflinchingly, empathetically and authentically, with Charlize Theron completely nailing the knotty character of Megyn Kelly.
Bombshell is a lurid, cartoonish romp, marred by rough and sometimes overbearing flourishes, but not without a tragicomic soul. That alone makes it a genuine movie of the moment.
What Bombshell has going for it is a jaunty pace. The film by Jay Roach — the “Austin Powers” director who’s had rotten luck with dramas — clips along and is always watchable. But it misguidedly mimics other annoying, ripped-from-the-headlines movies, such as “The Big Short” and “Vice,” that rely on Elvis-impersonator acting, smug narration and quick cuts. Sometimes, you just want to see a tough topic taken seriously.
Bombshell is a scalding and powerful movie about what selling, in America, has become. The film is about selling sex, selling a candidate, selling yourself, selling the truth. And about how at Fox News all those things came together.
It is a strange film in some ways, speckled with powerful, insightful moments but also with some strained acting, pulled punches and fudged attitudes, unable to decide if its heroines are compromised through having been loyal Fox staffers.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?
This film frustrated and angered me, which I believe means that it did its job. A very pertinent film to our present times, Bombshell details a true story of sexual harassment in the workplace, bluntly portraying the dirty and demoralising deeds that take place behind the curtain.
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