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Though controversial figures themselves, some women who worked at Fox News came out to expose CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment back in 2016.
Their accounts were dramatized in the excellent 2019 movie Bombshell, which stars Nicole Kidman as news anchor Gretchen Carlson, Charlize Theron as journalist Megyn Kelly and Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil.
The film — which is now streaming on Netflix — chronicles how the man who created an infamous media empire was ultimately brought down by the women he hired and mistreated.
Read on to learn why this film should be at the top of your September watchlist.
It Has a Star-Studded Cast With Multiple Oscar Winners
Bombshell features impressive performances from Kidman and Theron as real-life Fox News anchors — but did you know that Robbie’s character isn’t real? Robbie’s fictional Kayla Pospisil is a composite character, amalgamated from accounts of multiple other women who worked at the network.
In addition to these three A-list stars (Robbie and Theron were both nominated for Academy Awards), it boasts a stacked cast of other familiar faces as well. Kate McKinnon, Malcolm McDowell, Allison Janney, John Lithgow (as Ailes himself), Richard Kind, and Rob Delaney are just a few of the other names in this exciting ensemble lineup.
It’s a Scathing Portrayal of a Toxic Workplace
With the film’s events having taken place immediately before the #MeToo movement, Bombshell stands as an enduring portrayal of workplace sexual harassment. It depicts how women have power against oppressive, abusive men and the systems that enable their behavior when they band together and speak out against them.
Blending dark comedy, satire, and biography, Bombshell manages to find a sweet spot within the absurdity of its dark subject material. It’s probably no surprise, then, that the screenplay was written by Charles Randolph, who expertly chronicled and lampooned the 2008 financial crisis with his screenplay for Adam McKay’s The Big Short.
The Makeup Effects Are Superb
You might notice that Kidman and Theron were able to bear an uncanny resemblance to their real-life counterparts in the film. Well, that was a little more than just some drugstore makeup and wigs. To convincingly become Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, Theron and Kidman were placed under the care of Vivian Baker — the head of the film’s makeup department — and Kazu Hiru, an Oscar-winning prosthetics expert.
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In order to give the actresses just the right “Fox Look,” painstaking study had to go into understanding just the right amount of makeup the characters needed and shaping the faces in just the right way, so the effect is realistic and subtle without being an exaggerated caricature. Different makeup looks were even used to showcase the arc of the characters, and further consideration had to be taken into how to get the makeup to stick to the synthetic prosthetic skin.
In the end, this meticulous craftsmanship paid off, and the makeup team received an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
English (US) ·