Bombshell features a dynamic cast and an intriguing look at one of America’s more recent scandals, but its Achilles’ heel might just lie in its conventional structure.
When the movie begins, we’re introduced to the Trump campaign in 2016 and Fox News’ coverage of the event. Charlize Theron stars as Megyn Kelly, the top network anchor covering the campaign. She’s very much a feisty, independent, and free-thinking woman who gets the latest scoops.
Nicole Kidman is Gretchen Carlson, another anchor who is equally determined at what she does and Margot Robbie is Kayla Pospisil, a conservative “millennial evangelical” and her character is a composite of different journalists who worked at Fox.
John Lithgow is Roger Ailes, the chairman and CEO of Fox. He’s very much opinionated and has an eye for detail, both in terms of the news and newscasters presenting it. He particularly has an eye for these three women.
His eyes get him into trouble after they accuse him of sexual harassment and suddenly out of the woodwork, multiple women do the same.
Bombshell works well with its performances from Theron, Kidman, Robbie, and Lithgow. Director Jay Roach portrays these individuals not as caricatures, but as the people – exploring their human side and the mounting pressures they faced. Even Lithgow is occasionally sympathetic even though we know his character’s fate.
The thing that works against the movie is that it does feel a little too conventional and formulaic. It checks off the boxes. If somebody really wanted to see the story and get a briefer insight into the people, they could pull it up on YouTube.
Nevertheless, there is something to be said about these performances and the direction is confident and detailed enough for me to mildly recommend it.
Grade: B
(Rated R for sexual material and language throughout.)
