On the one hand, Bombshell tells the naturally dramatic story of the women of Fox News courageously rising up and speaking out against the harassment of Roger Ailes. There are some harrowing moments that come along with this story, and it’s sold by the determined, paranoid, dogmatic performance of John Lithgow in great makeup as Ailes. But, on the other hand, the way director Jay Roach and screenwriter Charles Randolph choose to portray this story is puzzling. The film is a tonal catastrophe. One second, we’re watching a disturbing sequence between Kayla (Margot Robbie portraying a conglomerate character of the women Roger abused at Fox News) and Ailes, and the next we’re cracking jokes with Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) and watching her grapple with a weird semi-hero’s journey.
Bombshell has a gripping and dramatic story. Gretchen Carlson’s (Nicole Kidman) storyline is very captivating. Unfortunately, it’s largely secondary to Megyn Kelly’s, which is understandable (since Carlson signed an NDA in real life when she settled her lawsuit against Ailes), but also frustrating. Carlson’s calm, coordinated plan to take down the most powerful man in the media industry was significantly more interesting than Kelly grappling with setting her personal ambition aside to do the right thing. Carlson is played with a cool, collected demeanor by Kidman in the strongest of the core three performances.
Additionally, the makeup in this film is amazing. Lithgow, Kidman and Theron disappear into Ailes, Carlson, and Kelly thanks to some excellent makeup and great costume design (Colleen Atwood strikes again).
Bombshell tries to ride a fine line with Megyn Kelly’s character—not making her out to be a hero while having her simultaneously embark on a hero’s journey—and I do not believe it does this successfully. Too many times Kelly is glorified while grappling with a basic moral quandary, with the reminder that she is largely to blame for letting Ailes abuse and harass women while she sat silent in a seat of power. Too often is Kelly cracking jokes in uncomfortable moments, or having a sympathetic moment being harassed by Trump supporters in her million-dollar villa for me to not feel like she was being somewhat glorified for her actions. Yes, it takes great courage for anyone to come forward and upend their lives, and she did play a crucial role in bringing down Roger Ailes, but to sit silent for that long is equally troublesome.
Kayla, a conglomeration of women at Fox News abused by Ailes over the years, is a rather poorly written character with narrow, underdeveloped perspectives. She also has a romance with Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon) that is mentioned, and dropped immediately. Huh? What is the purpose of Jess Carr in this film? She has a fascinating perspective to offer, but has one scene to flesh this out.
And that’s the ironic summary of this film: a fascinating story largely wasted on tonal inconsistencies (and the pacing is all over the place). Solid acting, great makeup and a harrowing performance by John Lithgow—he goes all-in on this role—are forgotten in a haze of uncomfortable jokes, shoddy editing and just being too much like The Big Short. I’m beginning to think The Big Short really did catch lightning in a bottle. This style has been tried several times now since then, both by The Big Short director Adam McKay (Vice) and others, but it has never had the same gravitas or effectiveness. Also, maybe it would’ve been helpful to have a woman take a pass at this script.
