December 15, 2022 – The work of investigative journalism has been the subject of a number of films over the years, notably “All the President's Men” (1976) “Spotlight” (2016) and “The Post” (2017). This new film, about the New York Times investigation into sexual abuse allegations against former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, ranks right up there with the best.

I know a lot of men are tired of the “me too” movement and feel that women now have gone too far, damaging the reputations and livelihoods of men for behaving in sexually awkward ways with women. The “me too” and “woke” movements have become red meat targets for far right politicians who want to restrict the expression of certain sexual orientations and restrict access to certain books and limit the scope of subject areas taught in schools.

For those reasons alone, this movie is not going to be popular, since it documents some important events in the “me too” movement. This journalism procedural movie is all about reporters trying to access documents, get people to talk on the record, and to nail down the facts behind the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Reporters Megan Twohey (played by Carey Mulligan of “Mudbound”) and Jodi Kantor (played by Zoe Kazan of “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” are the reporters assigned to the story as part of a larger series of stories related to sexual misconduct in the workplace. Twohey is reluctant to dive into the story at first after the election of Donald Trump, who won, despite numerous stories about his sexual misconduct. She argues that movie stars like Gweneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd have influential power to speak for themselves, while poor women have no such voice.

Twohey also suffers from post-partum depression after the birth of her child. She also got direct threats after writing stories about Donald Trump and Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Shortly before Trump's election, she gets a phone call from a man who says, “I will rape you and murder you and throw your body in the Hudson River.” Curiously, those Americans who defend the rich and powerful will also attack the poor and powerless.

Eventually, Kantor, who has been working on the story, persuades Twohey to join her. There are plenty of clues, evidence and rumors, that they know they've got a major story if they can get people to go on the record. Plenty of people seem to know something, but they are not talking. A number of women signed non-disclosure agreements as a condition of out-of-court settlements of sexual abuse cases against Weinstein.

Even without getting statements on the record, Twohey and Kantor begin to build evidence based on documents, court cases and some public statements. Supported by their superiors, Rebecca Corbett (played by Patricia Clarkson of “Easy A”) and Dean Baquet (Andre Braugher of “The Mist”) the two reporters travel overseas and to the West Coast in pursuit of the story. Expenses mount, and there are management concerns about the cost and viability of the story, but the two reporters are encouraged to continue.

There are threats of legal action against the New York Times, and against the sources of the stories, but work on the story continues. Finally, the story is ready to publish, even without named sources, but two women do come forward to allow their names to be used for attribution at the last minute. First up is famed actress Ashley Judd (who plays herself in this film) followed by former Weinstein employee Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle of “Zero Dark Thirty”) who was abused as a young woman. Lola Petticrew plays young Laura in a number of flashback scenes.

When the Times publishes the story in 2017 it is a thunderbolt, unleashing a fire of reports and legal actions. After the article's publication, 82 women come forward with allegations against Weinstein. Many other women come forward with similar allegations against other men. Weinstein is convicted of related crimes and currently serving over 20 years in New York, with additional charges pending elsewhere. Weinstein's attorneys tried to delay a related trial because of the release of this film.

This looks like a star-making performance by Zoe Kazan as reporter Jodi Kantor. She seems to exude sympathy for the people she interviews. Mulligan is also excellent as fellow reporter Twohey, showing a lot of vulnerability as well as strength to deal with powerful forces trying to stop her.

The stars are supported by a big, talented cast of supporting actors, especially those women who play Weinstein's victims. The movie is well-written and effectively directed by Maria Schrader (“I'm Your Man”).

What this movie shows is how difficult investigative journalism is, and how expensive it is to investigate a story like this. It takes vast resources and top notch talent and expertise in a variety of fields to accomplish what reporters Kantor and Twohey did. Cheap journalism, like that practiced by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News (who is also seen in this movie) is not only inexpensive, but extremely profitable. It provides very little light, but a lot of emotional heat.

Aside from a few news organizations like the New York Times and the Washington Post, who have the resources to do extensive investigative reporting, journalism these days is in disarray. Newspapers are closing down all over the country because of declining advertising revenue and mismanagement by vulture capitalists. Fox News and other similar news organizations are making money by telling people what they want to hear and playing on base prejudices and ideological comfort, rather than featuring factual reporting.

This movie is a reminder of how hard investigative journalism is, and what can be accomplished when it is done right. This film rates an A.

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