Bombshell

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For something so recent and featuring such well-known players, the full story behind the shakeup inside Fox News — as revealed in Jay Roach’s Bombshell — is much deeper and far more sordid than what is understood by common knowledge. Taking place in the months proceeding the 2016 election, Bombshell tells three separate stories of women all connected by their associations with Fox News’s then-CEO Roger Ailes, played to significant effect by John Lithgow. Anyone with even a mild knowledge of what happened knows how this all ends but the lead-up and true scope of Ailes’s crimes are where the real drama lies.

Story aside, what viewers of Bombshell will quickly notice is how similar its humorous and meta-stylistic quality is to last year’s Vice. This might turn some off initially as being too kitschy for a severe tale of sexual harassment but writer Charles Randolph knows when to take his foot off the comedic gas pedal at the right moments and allows the film to mature, becoming a more serious piece as the story itself takes a darker turn in the second half. It is a juggling act like Jojo Rabbit that will work perfectly for some and not at all for others.

Regardless of how the filmmaking affects the viewer, that is all secondary to the main attraction: Bombshell is an actor’s movie, first and foremost, and everyone involved is doing some of the best work of their respective careers. Though Charlize Theron, as the prone-to-controversy Megyn Kelly, is the de-facto lead with an absolute knockout performance, both Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie do top-notch in their supporting roles. Every actress is mesmerizing and, in the case of Theron especially, completely disappears into her character. It is no wonder the film racked up so many nominations at SAG.

Maybe most surprisingly, the three women share negligible screen time together and only one scene as a trio. This is a risky move but it pays off, as it allows each woman’s storyline to feel fully realized in a way that significant interactions between them could not. It also adds more importance to the character they all interact with: the aforementioned Ailes, who is a spectre in every scene whether he appears or not. Keeping the three protagonists separated makes Ailes and his entourage seem even more insurmountable, while making their efforts against him seem all the more astounding.

There is so much going on in Bombshell that the fourth most significant female role in the film feels forced in. Kate McKinnon plays the coworker of Margot Robbie’s Kayla in a plot line that never really finds its footing, slowing down the movie’s steady pacing for aspects that seem less realistic than anything else going on. McKinnon plays the role well but her character could have been edited out, and not much would have been missed. 

It needs to be noted that Bombshell is a film about sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace and contains some sequences that might be upsetting to certain viewers. Overall, it may not be a film for everyone and does not seem to aspire to be. However, for those Bombshell does connect with, it will be an eye-opening and memorable look into one of the first major successes of the #MeToo movement.

Bombshell is released December 20th 2019 in the U.S. and 17th January 2020 in the U.K.