There are always a few films every year that seem to tap into the present zeitgeist (a window into prevailing spirit and mood of the time). . . one of 2019’s is most definitely Bombshell, written by Charles Randolph (who won an Oscar for his Adapted Screenplay of The Big Short, along with Adam McKay), and directed by Jay Roach – who continues his seamless transition from comedy filmmaker to dramatic (this following his 2015 effort in Trumbo).
Centred on three women working at Fox News in 2016, our quasi-narrator is Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron in an Oscar nominated performance), who has just asked too liberal a question to Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican Debate (leading to backlash from its conservative viewership), newscaster Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), whose more liberal leaning slant has plateaued her career, and newbie Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie, also nominated for an Academy Award), who is trying to find an avenue that will get her on the air in some capacity. As you will probably recognize, Kelly and Carlson are real people, while the Pospisil character is an amalgam of many women (and not based on a specific real life person).
Headed by puppetmaster boss Roger Ailes (a nearly unrecognizable John Lithgow), the film focusses on the way these three women’s lives have been affected by their so-called male leader. Ripped from the headlines, this hard-hitting story tackles the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace. For it is Roger Ailes who, from his perch atop Fox News (actually a locked office with its own private elevator), utilizes his power and control to manipulate these women. . . his twisted excuse of television being a visual media helping him exploit them (and others) into doing inappropriate acts to try to further their careers.
Doing a sharp job of depicting the mental anguish these acts lead to, we see the burden placed on those who consider coming forward, for the thoughts in their minds are warped by the closed-door situations (fearing for their jobs, concerned about the possible backlash, wondering if in some way they were complicit. . .). As mentioned above, this is a topic of the time, the #MeToo movement, the Harvey Weinstein scandal and so many other stories having littered the headlines. . . this smaller narrative just a part of the wider epidemic.
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Malcolm McDowell, who plays Rupert Murdoch in Bombshell
A quality piece of film making, it is the combination of hard-hitting script and stellar cast that elevates this picture. With a large and impressive cast, also look for Allison Janney as attorney Susan Estrich, Malcolm McDowell as billionaire owner of Fox Rupert Murdoch, Kate McKinnon as Jess Carr – a closeted Democrat and lesbian working within the confines of the Fox newsroom, Connie Britton as Ailes’ unquestioning wife Beth, Mark Duplass as Kelly’s husband Doug Brunt, as well as Stephen Root, Richard Kind, Alice Eve, Jennifer Morrison, as well as many others. Everyone brings their A game – and one of the reasons I love the SAG Awards category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (though Parasite won over Bombshell), is because it highlights the important aspect of film as an entity (the whole being greater than the sum of its parts).
Another detail worth noting, is where this movie’s third Academy Award nomination comes from – Makeup and Hairstyling. With nominations for Kazu Hiro (who won an Oscar for his amazing work in transforming Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour), Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker, the triumvirate deserve so much credit for transforming Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and John Lithgow into their real life counterparts. . . allowing for the audience to forget the actors and delve right into the story.
An important watch, as we can hopefully learn by taking a look back at the problems of the past years and decades (after all, hindsight is 2020), Bombshell brings all of its elements together to tell a most harrowing story. Nominated for Best Picture this year, see Bombshell – it’s aptly named.