Bombshell

This review may contain spoilers!

This film had an incredibly serious topic it wanted to discuss and it never found a consistent way to present it. I would give Bombshell a 6.5/10.

Bombshell is a fictitious investigation about the sexual harassment cases lodged against former Fox News head, Roger Ailes. I think this film takes a while to get where it's going but once we get intothe second act the narrative hikes up in a big way. The film pauses to really lay out the unsafe work environment Ailes has created in order to sexually exploit young female workers, it becomes this mounting horror show of visual horrors and testimonials that will really rock you even if you are familiar with the source material. I found the multiple viewpoints that previously seem disjointed in the film start lining up well in order to give you the full picture of what the investigation into Ailes means, how it affects the culture at Foxs News and what it prompts to bring out in other workers. You feel like you're watching a set of scales suddenly tipping, the balance of the well oiled machine presented at the beginning of the film slowly tipping as more of the rotting interior is revealed.

John Lithgow, who played Roger Ailes, is a very compelling antagonist for this feature; Lithgow holds a controlling and erratic presence that makes him all the more dangerous in those hard to watch scenes. Kate McKinnon, who played Jess Carr, is a very blunt realist who provides one of the best glimpses into how Fox News operates; McKinnon's portrayal of someone who's true identity is at risk while working at Fox News was a fascinating watch. Mark Duplass, who played Doug Brunt, is one of the few redeeming performers in the Megyn Kelly storyline; his role as a compassionate source of advice lead to some of the nicer scenes.

However, the best performance came from Margot Robbie, who played Kayla Pospisil. This is one of the weirdest positions I've been in for a best performance slot because I really felt how abundantly clear it was that Kayla wasn't real from the roughshod writing in this film, however what Robbie did in spite of the script is exceptional. The character of Kayla first enters a little aloof, she does make a few bumbling errors and she doesn't come across as the smartest member on her staff. But Robbie reveals a neat cunning streak to the character, we see her make several wily moves to advance to the top in a multitude of ambitious scenes. I liked the depiction both Robbie and McKinnon did of a same-sex relationship in a workplace where that would be very dangerous, it felt like a true connection and both actresses had massive amounts of chemistry with one another. The scenes leading to Robbie being harassed and violated by Lithgow's Ailes were extremely hard to watch, it was a number of scenes in which Robbie really revealed fear and a type of vulnerability you never want anyone to experience. I was glad this film got the opportunity to show this role rejecting the work environment she was abused within and triumphantly walk away from them.

This film often falls into the trap of being aware it has an important story to tell but having absolutely no direction on how to tell it. The framing of events in the first act is very dry and only serves to separate out the main characters from one another, making the plot feel very disjointed early on. A number of tricks have been pulled that a few political biopics have done in recent years: fourth wall-breaking, delivering exposition directly to camera, using an outrage moment of comedy to highlight an unsettling reality to name a few. But, the problem becomes that the film doesn't seem confident in using these aspects enough; instead one of these conventions may appear and then we on't see it used again for nearly half an hour. The style just isn't consistent and it becomes a very disruptive film to watch in that regard. I was disappointed that the film painted such a clear cut and definitive silver lining ending, making it feel like a problem that was entirely resolved when it so clearly wasn't. Another major issue was that this was a film peppered with dislikeable roles who never really become more palatable as the feature progresses, the worst example of this is Roger Ailes. The antagonist for this film should be someone really vilified for nurturing a culture of sexual harassment but instead the film paints him in a sympathetic light at times even near the end of the feature which strongly conflicted with the overall message. The cinematography tries to play with a fast and loose mockumentary-esque style, but the film is so straight-edge in its delivery that it never really connects with what we;re watching. The editing for the film sets a slow pace and there are many scenes which linger far too long on a given shot or sequence. The score for the film enhances a couple of key scenes but otherwise it was highly forgettable, leaving me with the impression that the film really did not know how to capture tone.

Charlize Theron, who played Megyn Kelly, committed strongly to the role's accent and that was probably the biggest mistake; Theron 's role comes off as very flat and monotonous to listen to marking this as one of the worst protagonist roles she's portrayed. Nicole Kidman, who played Gretchen Carlson, is hard to like as the face of the movement against Lithgow's Ailes; this role feels very self-serving yet also is held up as a symbol for women united and the two qualities never come together. Connie Britton, who played Beth Ailes, is a big part of why the Roger Ailes storyline never worked out; Britton's portrayal of blind loyalty feels very two-dimensional and at times naive. Liv Hewson, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Rob Delaney, who played Lily Balin, Julia Clarke and Gil Norman respectively, never really function well in their role as confidantes to Theron; these are background roles that never bolster the major scenes they are in.