The real-life story of the sexual harassment scandal that swamped the Fox News organization in 2016, helping to launch the #MeToo movement, is given a documentary-like treatment by director Jay Roach, with actors portraying actual TV moguls and personalities as well as fictional composites. Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) oversees a corrosive workplace environment and a conservative media empire that seeks, in his words, to “frighten” and “titillate.” He draws an ambitious recruit (Margot Robbie) into his intimate circle, as he deals with the outspokenness of two of his anchors, Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) and Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman). When Carlson is fired, she decides to sue Ailes, igniting a media firestorm and incurring the wrath of Ailes’ boss, Rupert Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell). Although the film blurs the line between fiction and reality and contains raw and unsettling dialogue and situations, it has a vital story to tell for discerning adult viewers about respect, integrity and the law.
Watch out for: Strong sexual content, including a harassment theme and an offscreen lesbian encounter, pervasive profane and crude language.
Rated: L, limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; MPAA: R
