I’m not a political by any stretch of the imagination. I’m usually the guy aiming to steer the conversation away from such divisive topics. Doing this podcast and website, has helped me to see the needs for such things. However, it has also helped to further realize how much they can divide people, create wars, separation and silence. The very things that can feed into depression, and even worse suicide or addiction. Yet, they are a necessary conversation to be had. For years, we allowed power to simply exist. However, 2006 saw a climate change challenge such power in the MeToo movement.
Sure, it wasn’t all political power but mostly, Hollywood, power that saw a challenge. Within six months of its inception, the movement had gone viral thanks to the hashtag addition and the growth of social media. The MeToo movement was envisioned to a support and to be a healing community for survivors of sexual assault and violence. The movement was garnered to find healing for women, to introduce them to the vast resources. However, the movement hit an all-time high in the fall of 2017, when victims of famed film producer, Harvey Weinstein, started to come forward. Floods of women started to come forward with similar stories as said power was starting to be challenged. It’s also worth noting that these are women are influence. Men who could get away with murder, were getting caught. Finally.
While Weinstein, was definitely one of the most prolific of the accused coming forward, there were many others in other mediums. Everything from the film industry, music industry, science, politics and right down to the newsroom of one mister Roger Ailes. Ailes was the mastermind that ran the Fox News Network and ushered the television news cycles to new heights. However, in 2016, one of his former anchors in Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against Ailes for sexual harassment. Over the next few months, more stories came out, including fellow anchor Megyn Kelly. Such is the story fueling the biopic, Bombshell, which sees Nicole Kidman as Carlson, Charlize Theron as Kelly and Jon Lithgow as Ailes.
The film boasts a pretty impressive cast including Margot Robbie, Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney, and more. At its core, the film cohesively tells three stories. Following Theron on the heels of the 2016 presidential election and the subsequent political attacks, she felt after. Kidman is in the beginning stages of setting up her lawsuit against Ailes for the way in which she is treated as a female within the world of news. Honestly, Kidman has the most eye-opening arc throughout the course of the film. A bold, honest, powerful depiction of how we can culturally belittle women because of their looks and gender. Its’ a haunting and disturbing fact that stays with viewers long after the credits roll. It’s a portion of the film that leaps off the stage and into your blood stream. Begging for a change. That’s what is so powerful about the arc that Kidman sets up.
Kidman is the soul of the movie. Laying the foundation, extremely early in the film for the skeleton of the movie to take shape. It’s the grace of how Kidman’s arc slowly gets fed by the arcs of Kelly and Robbie. It really is a thing of grace and beauty. The magnitude that writer, Charles Randolph, brings to the structure and set-up is astonishing. While Kidman and Theron are portraying the real life counterparts of women who went through the ordeal, you also have a third narrative feeding into Kidman’s skeleton with Robbie’s character, Kayla. Kayla is a young woman who has big dreams of seeing the lights of the news camera. Through her, we are able to see these heartbreaking accusations actually manifest. Its’ unsettling, uncompromising and heartbreaking. Robbie absolutely crushes the role as the emotional backbone to Bombshell.
Amongst its sea of stars and events, nobody really captivates the way in which Theron possess the screen. Bombshell is covered in moments where Theron doesn’t have to utter a word and her eyes conveys every emotion needed for that scene. Theron is the driving force of Bombshell. Every arc, every performance is used with brilliant purpose feeding into one another and their brilliance. Bombshell is, in every sense of the word, what an ensemble film should feel like. The flow of the film, the pacing, the performance, this is whirlwind of what the medium of cinema is capable of.
Overall, Bombshell, is exactly what its’ title represents. It is a whirlwind cinematic experience of brilliance, powerful performances and an undeniable beckoning for conversation. The film’s subject matter challenges viewers to conversate past the credits and consider how we treat women in any workplace. With a script from Charles Randolph, Bombshell manages to house three arcs that slowly merge beautifully into one. Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie deliver performances that are just as haunting as they are heartbreaking. Theron, in particular, commands every inch of the screen. Without even uttering a word, she is able to deliver an entirely separate set of emotions. Bombshell is one of the most important movies of the year. Not to mention, the one we need to be talking about right now!
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Music by Beggars. Bombshell is property of Lionsgate Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights.