Bombshell

Few socio-political events have shaped the past ten years like the #metoo movement. While we live in a frightening climate where fake news and right-wing propaganda go unchallenged, filtered like a sieve from the top, workplace sexual harassment has been called out, its perpetrators admonished and cast away. Jay Roach’s Bombshell, the biographical drama featuring an all-star cast, tells the explosive story of three women who nearly brought down Fox News, the most powerful media empire of all time, and the man behind it all, Roger Ailes.

Powerhouses Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie unite to play three news reporters at Fox News. Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly, the host of Fox’s highest-rated show, The Kelly File, who calls out Trump for his disgusting treatment of women during his road to presidency. Nicole Kidman plays former Miss America turned popular Fox News host, Gretchen Carlson, who is languishing in an afternoon time slot and on the path to redundancy. And Margot Robbie plays fictionalised Kayla Pospisil, a fresh-faced weather girl from Florida looking to make a name for herself in the cutthroat, ruthless news scene. The one person who holds their futures in his (slimy) hands is the ailing and infirm Roger Ailes (John Lithgow).

But in 2016, everything changed. Gretchen Carlson was fired by Roger Ailes. She then slapped him with a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment. It was unprecedented. In 16 days, Ailes took one of the most staggering falls in corporate history. Women banded together and came forward with their own stories sparking a cultural shift.

Bombshell conducts an autopsy on Fox News and the broader entertainment industry. Dubbed the most competitive industry to work in, it examines its dark culture of conservatism, gender imbalances, heavy make-up and objectification. Roger Ailes’ second floor acts as his compound and pleasure chamber, featuring in-built private elevators and hidden cameras. Sexist remarks like ‘We need you in a shorter dress’, ‘You’re a manhater’, ‘You’re sexy, but you’re too much work’ are uttered without pause. It’s a place that reduces female reporters to their lowest form, coercing them to ‘spin’ in front of him, as well as give him sexual favours in exchange for a chance to be ratings gold.

Theron’s portrayal was extraordinary – she really gave it her all. Her flawless accent was so impeccable that at times one would forget that someone was playing Megyn Kelly because it felt like Megyn Kelly was onscreen. In my mind, she undoubtedly deserves the Academy Award®. Robbie’s heart and soul was poured into every scene as you witnessed Kayla’s complex journey from wide-eyed naïveté to empowered sexual assault victim.

A somewhat light-hearted tone is maintained throughout the story despite its grim subject material. This is done on purpose. Partly to humanise the characters involved, but also to really bring to the fore just how sudden an innocuous conversation morphs into one where a woman is asked to pull up their skirt, reveal their underwear while an old fat man readjusts his pants and unzips himself.

Based on a real scandal, in a real workplace, Bombshell is a story about women banding together and saying “enough is enough”. And it really is enough.

Bombshell
In cinemas now
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