#MeToo movie 'Bombshell' is powerful, but flawed

Director Jay Roach's Bombshell treads an uneven path between satire and uncomfortable scenes of the normalisation of harassment at Fox News. Ultimately, though, it demonstrates a disappointing inability to take its characters to task for their rabidly right-wing views.

The story centres on Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) — star anchor of the channel — and her will-she-won't-she moral quandary in light of the initial claims of harassment against her boss Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) by fellow anchor Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) in 2016.

Added to these true-life struggles is the horrid experience of invented character Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), an ambitious employee at the channel. She's faced with a shameful choice when she encounters the perversions of the powerful Ailes.

The film begins with satirical voiceovers and speeches to camera that place it in the realm of political movies like The Big Short and Vice. But the choice to use this technique feels like a mistake when the reality of the "giving head to get ahead" culture at the network is revealed.

Theron gives a dedicated performance as Kelly but there's little in the way of exploration of her questionable politics, and Kidman, after setting the ball rolling, is relegated to making meaningful eye movements when talking to her lawyers on the phone.

For a more nuanced and layered exploration of the story and Ailes's character, look to Russell Crowe in last year's Showtime mini-series The Loudest Voice, which offers a more incisive portrait of the dodgy politics and ambitions of its villain.

Kelly's taking on of Republican candidate Donald Trump on his attitudes to women during the presidential debates of 2016 made her a partisan hero but that shouldn't excuse her questionable stances on issues like same-sex marriage, Islam and gun control, none of which are explored.

You can see why Theron would be attracted to taking the role of a powerful female crusader at the start of the #MeToo movement, but Roach and screenwriter Charles Randolph fail to address some of her serious failings.

That's a shame because at times Bombshell is a deeply upsetting film about the lengths to which women have to go to live their lives and do their jobs when they find themselves in misogynistic environments. 

• 'Bombshell' is on circuit.