I was vaguely aware but definitely didn’t follow the Fox News / Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal of 2016.
Set predominantly in the Fox News offices in New York, Bombshell focuses on the experiences of three women in particular (Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Kayla Pospisil), while they were employed by Ailes.
With such a great cast that features Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, Kate McKinnon and John Lithgow, it was clear right away that Bombshell wouldn’t disappoint performance-wise.
Instead, it was the distracting prosthetics work on Nicole Kidman’s chin that first stood out as ‘not quite right‘. Secondly, due to how the story is structured, by the end it felt as though I hadn’t quite watched a complete film – but rather snippets of specific days in a much bigger story. A story that I may have enjoyed more and felt more connected to, had it dived deeper into the backgrounds of the key characters. Maybe it would have worked better divided into several parts of a mini-series.
The last way in which Bombshell ‘isn’t quite right’ is actually through no fault of its own. I had some expectations about seeing a few scenes displaying ‘heartwarming female solidarity‘ between the key characters. A truth that seems more than a tad silly now, especially considering the social climate and apparent rivalries at the Fox News offices.
Overall, director Jay Roach’s movie did a good job of keeping my attention throughout; thanks in large part to the performances which really are the best thing about Bombshell. The prosthetics, particularly on Lithgow are also great.
Watch Bombshell for the ‘inside look’ at how disturbing things really were at Fox News. Just don’t make my mistake and go in expecting too much of the aforementioned heartwarming sisterly stuff’
Happy Film Loving
G
