Based on the accounts of several women working in Fox News under the supervision of business giant Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), Bombshell tells the story of reporters Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie plays a fictional composite character based on several various women) as they work to expose Ailes for sexual harassment.
Under Jay Roach’s direction, Bombshell sets the scene in the run-up to Donald Trump’s election and shines a spotlight on his disgusting comments to Kelly - a not so subtle way of reminding us this man is currently the President of the United States - before casting the light onto Roger Ailes. One thing Roach refuses to do, however, is paint Ailes as a total villain.
Lithgow, under heavy makeup and prosthetics, does a good job and also avoids playing Ailes as a complete villain. True, in the film’s most disturbing scene, Ailes sexually harasses Pospisil without even touching her by urging her to hitch up her skirt and show off her legs. Yet, Ailes is shown constantly doing nice things for members of his team and even Kelly herself expresses distaste in joining her voice in accusing Ailes because of how he helped her career along.
Other than the three leads, the movie seems to rely on many cameos and appearances (Jennifer Morrison, Alice Eve and D’Arcy Carden to name but a few) to keep the film chugging along. The subject matter is harsh and should be enough to hold the film together, but Roach seems keen to rely more on making it flashy and glamorous.
Theron holds the film together. Whereas Robbie and Kidman are more one-dimensionally portrayed, Theron has debates with herself, with her colleagues, with her family and is presented as a fully fleshed-out character. If this had not been based on a true story, the point of the film may have been more resounding if we had stuck with Theron and not been tossed about between no less than forty characters. The film’s meaning and intent is respectable, yet their failing is in making Ailes - the villain of this story - more likable than Trump, who appears in some scenes through the use of real news footage.
Score: 62/100