Bombshell (2019)

Bombshell (2019)

A pretty well-made film!

The trio of Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman works really well, although I would have liked to see them together even more. Nicole and Charlize were really made up to look as much like the real people as possible, and it’s quite a success.

A very good film about the Fox News scandal. Scandals on ‘Trump’s channel’? No surprise there!!!

Malcolm McDowell is as terrifying as ever with that distinctive face of his!
What an actor. It’s hard not to think of A Clockwork Orange when I see him.

Scandal is a must-see film. It’s one of those Hollywood films which, like testimonies, make a real difference in their own right by exposing the very issues they denounce and reminding us of serious, sensitive and thought-provoking subjects.
One naturally thinks of Vice, The Big Short or Spotlight, not to mention The Pentagon Papers.

A commendable and ever-useful approach, one we simply cannot do without – even more so in these times when information is restricted and controlled, not to say outright muzzled!

Here, we go back a little before the Weinstein affair that made headlines in 2017, this time to the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign, to the scandal that rocked the news channel ‘Fox News’ and which ultimately led to its famous boss being sacked for sexual harassment…

I have followed with interest the murky underbelly of these rather peculiar relationships that this man maintained with his journalists, under the pretence of a certain loyalty that made sense only to him!

All the ambiguity surrounding the recruitment of these women is portrayed and demonstrated with striking clarity, not least through the pressure – and thus the abuse of power – that this unscrupulous boss, utterly devoid of any self-reflection, exerted on them.

To this end, the three leading actresses in this story each embody, in their own way, three key moments corresponding to different stages of this harassment.

Whilst, of course, this trio is under the spotlight as must-see celebrities for whom many will come to see this film (Kidman, Theron and Robbie), the fact remains that, thanks to their personalities, it all works rather well, thereby illustrating and exposing the odious Roger Ailes, who will eventually be caught out – a role brilliantly portrayed by actor John Lithgow, who has also undergone a physical transformation, even if, in substance, it is far from a glorious part for him!

One is indeed left stunned and disgusted by the methods and actions of such a boor, who, moreover, considers himself a good boss to his staff, whilst one realises the sum he stands to gain – without, moreover, facing any real legal trouble as a result!

Back then, we used to say: ‘That’s what we hope to learn one day about the Epstein case too, which has, rather curiously, been consigned to oblivion…’

…but thankfully, the truth eventually came out! Though not quite enough yet, given that the monstrous orange beast is still president as I write these lines.

It’s therefore all the more understandable why movements like #MeToo have emerged, as well as campaigns against sexual harassment, or, in another area, domestic violence – even if these social issues do tend to overshadow the rest of the news just when it’s most needed!

An effective, important and essential film by Jay Roach, although I would have liked to see more inventiveness and boldness rather than this slightly too polished feel. Nevertheless, it’s still necessary to highlight everything that our society, through its pyramidal power structure, has created in the form of abuses by people who believe they have every right simply by virtue of their role or position!

A subject that’s still very much in tune with the times!