Bombshell  ★★★½

DIRECTOR Jay Roach solidifies his recent move from comedy to drama with Bombshell.

Roach was previously best known for directing three Austin Powers’ films and the original Meet the Parents in 2000.

He also made the awful Dinner for Schmucks and the average The Campaign before entering the dramatic field with Trumbo in 2015.

To tell the story of Fox News boss Roger Ailes’ 2015 downfall, Roach adopts the recent cinematic approach of films like Vice, The Big Short and Wolf of Wall Street which present the narrative in the simplest of terms, including some explanations direct to camera by key characters.

For good measure the writer of 2015’s The Big Short, Charles Randolph, was charged with scripting the story of how Ailes not only created and fostered a toxic sexist workplace over many years, but also physically and mentally assaulted many women working for him.

These are events that many of us are already aware of, but this doesn’t diminish the impact of the film during key sequences.

I say ‘key sequences’ because most of the film involves a straight-forward presentation of the chronology and facts with only a few scenes where emotional impact is front and centre.

This is mainly the case during the scenes involving a composite character, Kayla Pospisil played by Margot Robbie, who represents the younger generation of female employees at the Murdoch family owned, right-leaning media conglomerate.

Kayla is eager to make an impact on the industry and the bosses she looks up to, but fails to heed the subtle warnings that are only whispered about in the workplace that feeds on ambition, competition and the belief that sex helps sell everything, including the daily television news.

Ailes, as portrayed by John Lithgow, is a master manipulator and predator, using his power to harass and control, seduce and break his female employees.

While Ailes was able to aggressively indulge his petulance, insecurities and influence over many years, he is eventually brought down by two powerful women whose paths never actually cross because they don’t particularly like each other.

But Gretchen Carlson, played by Nicole Kidman, and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) prove just as formidable in their eventual pursuit of Ailes against opposition not only from the man and his lawyers but even some female colleagues for a range of reasons, including fear of losing their own jobs.

The tone of this film is interesting, a little uneven and perhaps not in keeping at all times with the events it is seeking to examine.

But this is balanced by the fact that Roach doesn’t adopt a didactic approach that might have turned some viewers off, thinking they aren’t hearing anything new.

All the cast are good with Robbie and Theron being the stand-outs. The scene between Robbie’s character and Lithgow’s Ailes in his office is exceptionally good and it’s a shame there aren’t more of these emotional moments in the film.

The supporting cast includes Alison Janney as Ailes’ lawyer, Connie Britton as his wife and Kate McKinnon as a closet Democrat and lesbian working for Bill O’Reilly.

Real-life Australian acting brothers Josh and Ben Lawson play James and Lachlan Murdoch in a couple of scenes and there is a great cameo in the film’s final act.

Special mention should be made of the subtle yet extraordinarily effective makeup by Kazu Hiro, who transformed Gary Oldman into Churchill for The Darkest Hour and achieves the same here for Theron.

Bombshell suffers from the dilemma of how to present an important story and message to the widest possible audience, but still does so in a very entertaining way with excellent performances all round.