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Bombshell tells the story of the Fox News sexual harassment lawsuit that would eventually bring down CEO Roger Ailes, and three women who were instrumental in the proceedings. The film is uneven in its tone, beginning as a fourth wall breaking, ‘The Big Short’ style biopic, but never really returning to this style after the opening scenes. After this it takes on a documentary style in its camerawork and editing. I wish it had stuck to its opening tone though, as it could have been a much more distinctive film than it ends up being.

The performances are all excellent. Charlize Theron disappears into her role, in a spot-on portrayal of Megyn Kelly. This is thanks to makeup designer Kazu Hiro, whose prosthetics make Theron unrecognisable, and never for a second look artificial. She conveys the attitude of Kelly perfectly as a person who has strong feminist beliefs, but also cares about her position at Fox and knows how to play by the rules to maintain that power. Nicole Kidman has the least to do in the film as Gretchen Carlson, despite being the instigator of the scandal. She only really interacts with the other two leads in one scene and is kept mostly separate from the action. Margot Robbie’s Kayla Pospisil is a fictional character meant to represent the experiences of other women at Fox. She handles a lot of the films emotional weight, as a young, naive woman experiencing Rogers abuse for the first time. She also serves as an audience stand in that exposition can be delivered to.

In focusing purely on the sexual harassment scandal story, the film is tasked with turning some otherwise problematic real life figures into heroes. The film does address the conservative views of Fox and the dangers of working there as someone who doesn’t align with those views. It also mentions Megyn Kelly’s racist remarks but glorifies her as a positive role model because she’s willing to speak her mind. The Murdoch family are shown as strangely heroic characters who seem to have never liked Ailes in the first place and give him the final push out of the door. This film has a strong message about feminism and solidarity that is delivered well. This is a good story about taking down abusers in positions of power- if you can see past the problematic real life counterparts of the characters and view them purely in the bubble of the film.