Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Jay Roach, Amazon Prime.
Two Academy Award-winning stars in Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman head the cast of this drama based on a real scandal.
Bombshell is a revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of our time and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it. It was the accounts of the women at Fox News who set out to expose Chairman and CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes (John Lithgow, The Changing Room, Hillary and Clinton) for sexual harassment.
The plotline goes like this. After co-moderating the 2016 Republican debate, Megyn Kelly (Theron) faces numerous insults from Donald Trump, who is upset because she asked him about his offensive comments toward women. Kelly and Trump eventually reconcile following pressure from the network and after receiving death threats.
In the meantime, Gretchen Carlson (Kidman, The Hours, Moulin Rouge!) is removed as co-anchor of the popular Fox and Friends show, and is transferred to a less popular show. She is inundated by sexist comments on and off the air, including from Ailes. Carlson meets with lawyers, who explain that her contract prevents her from suing the network. However, she can sue Ailes personally. Having had enough, she files a lawsuit against the Fox News founder.
After her appearance on The O’Reilly Factor, Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie, I, Tonya, Mary Queen of Scots), Ailes begins sexually harassing her.
Collectively, the female trio is a powerful force of change. The consequences of Carlson’s courageous action culminates in a global liberation movement.
Theron (Monster, North Country) as Kelly embodies the anchor with uncanny accuracy from the moment she first comes into the frame. She talks to us directly, interspersed with smiles and an occasional wink, which is why Kelly’s frosty, unyielding persona gives way to making her look more compassionate and approachable. She sets out to explain the internal operations of the traditional news network.
Robbie stands out in her role as Kayla, while Kidman expresses a combination of ambition and pleasantness.
The stakes are high as the material is solemn and substantial, and the outcome is emotionally, culturally and monetarily exhaustive.
Skillfully at the helm of Bombshell is Emmy-winning director Jay Roach (Game of Change, Austin Powers film series) and Oscar-winning co-writer Charles Randolph of The Big Short.
