This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by The CineBlog’s Sophie Butcher.
Bombshell (2020)
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriter: Charles Randolph
Starring: Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon
Bombshell revisits a pivotal moment in recent media history: the unmasking of systemic sexual harassment at a major news organization that helped catalyze the wider #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. Focusing on the stories of Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and the fictional Kayla (Margot Robbie), the film explores how women at Fox News navigated power, ambition and intimidation while deciding whether to speak out.
The film tracks the months leading to Carlson’s lawsuit against network chief Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) and the ripple effects that followed. It also follows Kelly, whose high profile places her in an awkward position between protecting other women and avoiding becoming the story herself. Kayla, a composite character and ambitious production assistant, provides a ground-level perspective of the culture within the network, showing how coercion and pressure operated daily for younger staffers.
On a technical level, Bombshell is immediately noticeable for its heavy prosthetics and makeup. Charlize Theron’s transformation into Megyn Kelly is often praised for its thoroughness, and Theron disappears into the role with careful physical and vocal work. Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of Gretchen Carlson aims to capture the veteran news anchor’s mannerisms, though the prosthetic work can sometimes feel distracting rather than immersive. John Lithgow’s bulked-up portrayal of Roger Ailes relies on a fatsuit that may feel like an old Hollywood caricature to some viewers. These cosmetic choices demonstrate a commitment to likeness, but they occasionally create a barrier between the audience and the raw emotional core of the performances.
Writer Charles Randolph and director Jay Roach attempt a tonal balance between sharp, dramatic moments and brisk, occasionally darkly comic beats. Roach — better known for his comedies — uses quick pacing, voiceover devices and fourth-wall touches to convey the gulf between what the characters think and what they are forced to say. That device succeeds in moments, showing the internal tension of women who must perform neutrality or compliance in the presence of powerful men, while thinking much harsher truths. Against those strengths, however, the screenplay sometimes flirts with sensationalism, and the film’s rhythm tips between urgency and didacticism.
Margot Robbie stands out by bringing nuance to the fictional Kayla, who is equal parts naïve and determined. Robbie gives her a believable arc from eager assistant to someone wrestling with moral and professional consequences. Her on-screen chemistry with Kate McKinnon, who plays fellow employee Jess, provides the emotional center of the film. McKinnon offers one of her most grounded performances, trading her usual broad comedy for measured sincerity that anchors many of the film’s quieter scenes.
Charlize Theron’s Megyn Kelly is a study in public poise and private conflict. Theron commits fully, managing the character’s public ambition and private vulnerability with a disciplined approach. Nicole Kidman’s Gretchen Carlson conveys the weary resolve of a woman pushed to challenge institutional power; her scenes have an understated dignity. John Lithgow plays Roger Ailes as a menacing figure of entitlement, making clear the imbalance of influence at the heart of the story.
Yet the film’s most persistent shortcoming is its limited scope. By concentrating so closely on a handful of individuals and dramatizing Ailes as the singular villain, Bombshell risks simplifying a much larger cultural problem. The film shows how toxic power functioned at Fox, but it rarely widens its lens to consider systemic causes or long-term consequences beyond the immediate resignations and headlines. Important contextual elements — including the wider media ecosystem and the political consequences of the era — receive only passing attention, leaving the viewer with a sense of an unresolved aftermath.
The moral ambiguity around celebrity anchors, institutional complicity and the uneasy intersection of media and politics is acknowledged but not fully interrogated. For example, the film points out that personal ambition and complicity coexisted with courage and resistance, but it stops short of asking tougher questions about accountability beyond individual downfall. In that way, Bombshell delivers a vivid dramatization of harassment and intimidation but offers less in the way of systemic analysis.
Overall, Bombshell is a watchable, often powerful dramatization anchored by committed performances — particularly by Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron and Kate McKinnon — but it falls short of being a definitive exploration of the events and their broader implications. The movie succeeds in making the office atmosphere feel palpably toxic and in giving a human face to the women who risked their careers, yet it remains frustratingly narrow in scope. For viewers seeking a character-driven recounting of the Fox News scandal and its personal toll, Bombshell delivers. For those wanting a deeper, systemic critique, the film only gestures in that direction.
14/24