Bombshell: Ladies Unite

It seems only fitting that following my review of The Morning Show, a TV show about sexual harassment, I now post a review of Bombshell, a movie about sexual harassment. 'Tis the season, Merry Christmas everyone!

Bombshell tells the real-life story of how Fox News anchor, Gretchen Carlson, sued Roger Ailes, the skeezy founder of Fox News, for sexual harassment, which led to him being fired in July 2016, a rare victory for the #MeToo movement. Based off a screenplay by Charles Randolph and directed by Jay Roach, the movie offers a quick and dirty (emphasis on "dirty") look at the workplace culture at Fox News and the different ways the men and women employed there reacted to the lawsuit. The tone of the movie is very The Big Short-esque: the actors often break the fourth wall to talk directly to the camera, there's a lot of cutesy scene-setting at the beginning, voiceover narration, and other flourishes that are bit over-the-top. But once all the tricks settle down and the director focuses solely on the three women at the heart of this story, things really get moving.

The trinity consists of Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, and Margot Robbie who plays a fictional associate producer named Kayla Pospisil. Kidman does a fine job but she never quite disappears into the character - instead, the screenplay does the heavy lifting to demonstrate what an incredible job Carlson did when she decided enough was enough. Turns out that while Roger Ailes (played in this movie by John Lithgow, who is an absolute mensch in real life, but is a total creep in this movie) may have hired women for their sex appeal, Carlson wasn't just a Miss America-winning blonde who looked good in a skirt. She was a wickedly smart Stanford-educated lawyer, and that legal training came in mighty handy when she went after Ailes and brought about his downfall with surgical precision.

Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly is a marvel. The makeup department deserves an Oscar because they managed to make her look eerily like Kelly - when I first saw the trailers for this film, I had no idea who the actress was until they flashed her name up on the screen. In addition to looking like her, Theron has nailed her voice and general demeanor and it is wonderful to watch her feud with Donald Trump and try to take on the establishment, all while insisting she is not a feminist. The script captures the tension of what it is like to be a woman in power at Fox News - Kelly had paid her dues and earned her spot at the top, but she still had a conscience. Unlike the Jeanine Pirros and Greta van Susterens of the world, she couldn't toe the party line and blindly support Ailes during the lawsuit when she had firsthand knowledge of his harassment. It's the problem so many women face in this era when they're finally calling men out on their bullshit: it's the right thing to do, but chances are it will backfire and the only one who will be punished is you. So why rock the boat?

Margot Robbie as Kayla is the beating heart of the film. She's the unwitting innocent who loves Fox News, wants to be on air, goes to Ailes for career advice, and discovers that the boss expects favors in return. She may be a fictional character, but she represents all those unnamed women who thought Ailes would help them early in their careers and instead found themselves demeaned and humiliated. Robbie has a brilliant scene towards the end of the movie that will really tear your heart out and serves as a reminder of just how much women are traumatized and undone by sexual misconduct. And as counterpoint, you have Connie Britton as Beth Ailes, Roger's wife who will always stand by her man, make excuses, and turn a blind eye to his depravity. It's infuriating, but often behind every disgusting man, there stands a willfully complicit woman.

Bombshell is not a perfect movie. It is gimmicky and delights in a lot of stunt casting (Richard Kind as Rudy Guiliani was particularly hysterical) to represent its enormous cast of characters. But if you strip away the bombast, you have a tale as old as time. Thankfully this one had a happy ending, and it is a celebration of what can happen when women unite and say they won't accept the status quo. Carlson's lawsuit wouldn't have gone anywhere if 22 other women hadn't also stepped forward and dared to challenge a monster. This movie captures all the agony and indecision and the reasons women stay silent. It's a horrible burden to bear, but seems even worse when you have to share it, and as we all know, the outcome may not always be in your favor. While this was one of the rare cases where a man did face some consequences (Ailes was fired, but there were no criminal charges, and he received a $40 million severance package, sigh) this is certainly not a feel-good story. As my friend Laura said when we left the theater, "I feel icky and think I need to take a shower." The movie begins with a light comic tone, but ultimately, it's the story of a gross and dangerous man. We can cheer for the women who stood up to him, but it serves as a powerful reminder that there are still so many more women out there that need help.