Carey Mulligan: "She Said"

A speech tag is a controversial item: Many writers feel that it's best to use "said," but teachers often ask students to use "whispered," "sneered," "hinted," "bellowed."

I'm with the writers--not the teachers.

I think that when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey wrote about Miramax, they found themselves repeatedly using the words "she said." And a bulb went on. Both words have mighty significance. "She" has weight because the people who took down Harvey Weinstein were women--around eighty women. "Said" has weight because one of Weinstein's crimes was to rob women of a voice. One of his victims actually says, on record, "Weinstein took my voice from me, and I was in my early twenties; I was just *finding* that voice."

Weinstein didn't just assault women; he pushed them into (metaphorical) closets. You couldn't talk after your encounter; if you talked, you would lose your footing in Hollywood. Weinstein cornered one woman and forced open her legs. "Just let me have one thrust," he said. The woman escaped, but because of Weinstein's power, and because of her own conservative upbringing, she felt she couldn't strike back. Weinstein wrote a letter of reference for her--and the letter repeatedly referred to her "value," as if she were a plot of land. She found a new job, but her inner turmoil was so great, she attempted suicide. "I just didn't know how to do it." Eventually, she married, and her secret became a wedge through the middle of her partnership; her husband had no idea what she was hiding.

I really liked the movie adaptation of "She Said." The script borrows heavily from the "Spotlight" playbook, but the casting choices are impressive. I loved Jennifer Ehle and Carey Mulligan and Andre Braugher, and I thought Samantha Morton made the most of one baggy, unfortunately static scene.

I'm eager to see more from everyone involved. It's nice to speculate that Mulligan is putting aside the historical dramas (great though they were!) and entering a new, righteous, furious stage in her career.

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