Bombshell

Before the entertainment world was rocked by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and subsequent #MeToo movement a bombshell was dropped on the news media, in particular, Fox News.

Docudrama Bombshell explores this first wave of sexual harassment revelations. The film revolves around allegations pegged towards the then Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) by news anchors/hosts Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron). The final piece of the puzzle in Bombshell is fictional character Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), who is an amalgamation of a number of other Ailes victims.

By splitting the film into three distinct, but overlapping, arches Bombshell quickly represents how disposable and replaceable Ailes felt his female employees were. This shines a bright and jarring light on the culture of harassment which seemingly pervaded Fox News and numerous other entrainment mediums.

Throughout the film each actor provides a compelling and believable portrayal of their character/real-life counterpart.

Bombshell is a stark reminder of the horrid events which can occur behind closed doors when ambition precedes human decency. 

★★★ ½

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