When it comes to timely topics, films tend to either be profusely inappropriate, having very little tact as they approach contemporary issues without any filter, or innocuous social dramas that avoid any in-depth discussion, hoping that a surface-level summary that somewhat softens the situation at hand will be enough. Bombshell is a film that classifies itself under neither of the two, being one of the rare examples of a film tackling an enormous controversy that does so with some degree of elegance and restraint, but also not being apprehensive of the truth. This film also had all the qualities of a failure, prior to its release. The director didn’t inspire any confidence (Jay Roach hasn’t directed a decent film in over a decade, so our fears were certainly not unfounded), and screenwriter Charles Randolph may have achieved acclaim and accolades for his work on The Big Short, a film that may have been loved upon initial release, but has aged quite poorly, especially as we’ve seen subsequent films that prove that you can tell a complex story without resorting to the outright absurdity present in that one. However, what we can say about Bombshell is that, despite being sometimes extremely flawed, it is a respectable piece – it strives to be neutral, and while the notion of a film, especially one on contemporary socio-political issues, can never hope to be fully neutral, this one does manage to present its story in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s aligned with a certain political view. Add to this an ensemble of really terrific performers, and an execution that removes every bit of callous humour or inappropriate satire, and you get one of the year’s most unexpectedly harrowing films that may not be a horror, but certainly takes on many of the genre’s qualities, which was a daring, if not occasionally strange, approach to an otherwise alarming film that makes tangible an issue that all of us should be even more aware of than we are now.

One of the qualities I admired most about this film was how it wasn’t afraid to get right to the point – the film has its shortcomings, but the ability to cut through the exposition and launch directly into the heart of the matter is precisely why it can overcome these problems. So, considering Bombshell is so direct, we might as well follow suit and get right to the heart of what makes this such an effective film – ultimately, Bombshell is a film about women, written and directed by men. A film like this is always going to raise some suspicion when we’re looking at fundamentally female stories from the gaze of male filmmakers. This doesn’t mean that stories like these can’t be told by men, but rather that there’s a certain approach that needs to be taken to make sure that it doesn’t come across as trivializing the matter. Randolph, who we can primarily hold responsible for this film in both flaws and merits, manages to make several choices that indicate a sense of understanding towards this issue that extends far beyond simply looking at a real-world controversy from the position of a screenwriter working on a project, but rather with the detailed research required to evoke discussion that sometimes isn’t possible when dealing with real-world accounts of these events. This is not to suggest that Bombshell did everything it set out to do without coming across various obstacles – the film does sometimes feel like it was written as an outrageous satire, where the moments of comedy were taken out at the last minute, leaving gaps that would normally contain some subversive humour that shows the absurdity of the plot. This worked for The Big Short, and it worked for some of Roach’s more lighthearted comedic fare. When you’re dealing with an issue like sexual harassment, there’s absolutely no space for comedy, which was something that was clearly decided upon slightly too late – but mercifully, it was made with enough time to ensure that the film as a whole manages to be respectful enough to the subjects to not just make them the folly of a ludicrous dark comedy.

On the subject of respect, Bombshell is an inherently difficult film to praise, especially because it centres entirely on Fox News, one of the most divisive institutions in American culture, being despised by those on one side of the spectrum, and embraced by those on the other. The film goes a step further in challenging the audience by telling the story from the perspective of a group of women normally derided for their political views. The film could be misconstrued as trying to get us to sympathize with these otherwise questionable characters – and there’s no doubt that Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson are not the steadfast warriors they appear to be in this film. However, what Randolph and Roach do in piecing together these horrifying stories and turning them into a single film was to not only remove the inappropriate comedy but also avoid politics as much as possible. The film may centre on an institution composed of, and most beloved by, right-wing conservatives, but yet it feels remarkably liberated of that kind of commentary, where it isn’t avoided (there are many indicators throughout the film that they’re not trying to soften the impact Fox News has on a large faction of the population), but it doesn’t take up any more space than it needs to. Politics isn’t the main factor behind this film – if it had not been so clearly marketed as the story of Fox News, it would be almost just as successful because this isn’t a story about Kelly, Carlson (or any of the other dozens of people whose story the filmmakers sought to tell) as conservative commentators or television personalities, but rather them as women, victims of a patriarchal system that shows itself to be a perpetrator in even the most reviled of institutions. To call a film like Bombshell “brave” is an enormous over-estimation of what it does, but we can’t deny that there’s a certain poignancy to what the film does that allows us to separate the person from the politics, and focus on their own individual struggles, which turns out to be a wonderful choice because where the film falters in terms of how it sometimes induces pity for the controversial figures it portrays, it never does so in a way that restricts it to what we know about these women, but rather a haunting manifesto of what we don’t, which was a daring decision and one that did work exceptionally well.

Another point on which the film thrives is the cast – a true ensemble piece, Bombshell contains some incredible actors giving remarkably strong work, with many of them even demonstrating their best work in years. Charlize Theron is the closest to a lead that this film has, and she reminds us why she’s an actress embraced by audiences, critics and the industry alike – she transforms herself into Megyn Kelly (a large portion of which should be credited to the amazing makeup team that showed that you can turn someone into a well-known figure without needing to resort to heavy prosthetics, which is an odd point to praise here, as this same team were responsible for the transformation of another actor here that uses this very thing), and goes further than the impressive physical change, adopting her voice, mannerisms and personality in a way that feels as if we are truly watching Kelly herself relay this story. Theron has the challenge of humanizing someone so often dismissed as being a reactionary at best, a figure of political malice at worst. She avoids the aspects of the character that would normally be the focus in remarkable ways and instead focuses on Kelly as a figure that helped kickstart a certain faction of the movement this film demonstrates. The same can be said for Nicole Kidman, who brings a lot of soul to a role that desperately needed it – her elegance and pathos as a performer complement the more unlikeable qualities of Gretchen Carlson and makes her into a figure that isn’t worthy of much sympathy but certainly doesn’t deserve the derision a more callous film would tend to employ. Margot Robbie rounds out the main cast, and while she may be playing a composite character, she serves the purpose of representing the countless “bombshells” hired by Roger Ailes less on their virtues and more on appearance. Robbie is obviously a gifted actress, and she elevates a role that is otherwise entirely meaningless other than to be a plot device, and her own emotional arc, while unfortunately under-explored by the fact that the film wasn’t intending to give her the attention she deserved, formed the heart of the film. There are many small roles throughout Bombshell, but none of them more affecting that John Lithgow, who turns in one of the year’s most frightful villain performances, playing Ailes in a way that seemed almost the opposite of what we’d expect – he’s not the overly-lascivious oaf, or the charmer who can convince women to do anything he wants from how persuasive he is. Lithgow is abrasive, cold and truly evil in the part, and while so much of this film’s successes sit with the female cast, Lithgow stands alongside them in interpreting this malicious man, and his descent from powerfully evil to dreadfully pathetic is less satisfying as it is deeply unsettling, as is so much of this film and the story it tells.

Bombshell is a film about victims, and as I alluded to above, there’s a sense of dread underlying this film that causes it to resemble something of a horror, particularly in how Roach makes use of tension as a dramatic tool. There are scenes in this film that have the harrowing content of some of cinema’s most upsetting moments, and while it may certainly be heightened (for dramatic effect, rather than to propel the story forward – the true events that this film was based on could never be portrayed in a way that was too sensational, as these crimes were truly inconceivably malicious), the ultimate goal of this film is to explore a social movement that has truly defined the current age, whereby victims of sexual abuse break the cycle of silence by speaking out and addressing their experiences, in the hopes that not only can their own abusers pay the consequences, but the entire culture around toxic masculinity and heteronormative expectations can change to one where women can live their lives free of any fear. However, there’s so much that can be said about this issue, and this isn’t the right space for it, especially when we’re looking at it through the context of a film like Bombshell, which isn’t perfect in regards to how it addresses these enormous issues – the concept of victim blaming is one that Randolph seems to struggle with, especially as the events of this film unfold, and we see various characters deciding to break their silence, only to be derided for doing so when its either too late or convenient for them. The easiest way to understand the worth of Bombshell is to just take it at face-value – this isn’t going to be a film that serves as the definitive text on this issue, nor is it going to be the last. It’s simply a work that seeks to look at one particular moment in this revolutionary movement, challenging the audience to put aside any preconceived political allegiance and just engage with these characters on the fundamentally human level, where they’re not larger-than-life figures with enormous discursive soapboxes, but simply victims of a harsh system.

Bombshell isn’t necessarily a cohesive text in terms of how it unites both sides of the political spectrum, but it certainly doesn’t do anything to worsen the division, which would have been incredibly easy to accomplish, and it’s admirable that the film avoided it altogether. A fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, work of true-life horror, Bombshell may not be the most comprehensive text on this scandal, but its certainly one that contributes to it in a way that feels meaningful rather than exploitative, a threat that always loomed with a film like this, and for which Roach, for all his previous transgressions as a filmmaker, should be praised. He and Randolph, along with an ensemble cast of incredible performers (particularly Theron and Robbie, who give some of their best performances to date here), deliver an incredibly compelling story that may be too glossy at times, and may rely on the intricacies of a particular story as a way of commenting on broader social issues, but remains a deeply convincing tale of the role of power in the media, the terrifying code of silence that governs the workplace, and the growing anxiety to hold those who abuse their authority accountable for their actions. It’s not a perfect film, and the tone seems to be the most disconcerting problem, but as a whole, Bombshell succeeds in being an effective drama that does what it sets out to do and finds itself being a convincing manifestation of contemporary social issues that are gradually becoming more visible due to many individuals’ endeavour to break the silence and simply talk about it, in the hopes that something will change. Bombshell isn’t the film to change mindsets, but it certainly does well in getting the message across.