A group of women decide to take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network.
A large machine needs to be running smoothly for everything to work out well. Every cog needs to be turning and well-oiled to move forward with ease. “Bombshell,” while it lines its cast with heavy hitters, seems to miss the details in the structure of the story and just the acting in general and this makes it difficult for the film to move forward with the energy it could’ve had.
The film’s premise covers the story of how Roger Ailes was ousted from FOX News after his serial sexual harassment was brought to light by numerous women which were led by Gretchen Carlson and soon followed by Megyn Kelly and Kayla Pospisil. The story is intriguing and there are parts of the movie that give a raw look at the toxic culture that lives not only in the news industry but in corporate culture in general but overall the film wasn’t memorable.
Margot Robbie’s character, Kayla Pospisil was treated as a young, clueless cub reporter which could have been the case but up until the final moments of the film, the character was one that was being saved by men and women alike, incapable of providing a voice for herself. I doubt that was the case in real life. I have no doubt that contracts prevented her from being open but I doubt that she was a quiet damsel such as the one portrayed in the film. I get that every film needs a way forward and Pospisil was an intriguing way to do so but it was a weak attempt.
The movie focuses on the three main women and their dealings with Roger Ailes but from start to finish, the whole situation is glossed over. From the start of inquiry to Roger being ousted, the film spends maybe a few scenes on it. For a movie that was touted as the toppling of a giant, it spends very little time on the giant. That isn’t to say that the performance by John Lithgow isn’t good, on the contrary, if anyone was to play an angry and vile man who wields immeasurable amounts of power, Lithgow does extremely well. That’s the thing, all of the actors give great performances but the writing feels weak and even the big names can’t save it.
In Theaters Friday, December 20th
