Catch and Kill

Catch and Kill is a 2019 nonfiction novel about the exposing of Harvey Weinstein as a predator, and the story of how the story itself got published. If you’ve paid attention to the news in the past couple of years, you probably are aware of Harvey Weinstein, and why he’s in jail, or, at the very least, the Me Too movement. If not, here’s a quick primer. Weinstein was a movie producer, whose company was known for films like Inglourious Basterds, The King’s Speech, The Imitation Game, and many others. Weinstein founded the company with his brother after already being successful in the film industry, and carried considerable weight within the company and the industry as a whole. In Catch and Kill, we find out that he could essentially blacklist actors from getting work if he didn’t like them. Later, which is probably what you’re familiar with, he was arrested and sentenced to prison for various sexual assualt and rape charges.   What you probably don’t know is what this book covers. The amount of influence he had in the entertainment industry, his ability to get news stories not reported, and the cowardice of certain news organizations. Ronan Farrow, the author, not only does a great job reporting the story, he writes a damn interesting novel. The way he got this story published sounded more like a spy novel than a news story. It was very reminiscent of All of the President’s Men, with secret meetings, scared witnesses, and intimidation. Catch and Kill is a masterclass in writing, and a warning to all of those in the entertainment industry. 

Farrow himself is an interesting guy. He’s the son of Mia Farrow, graduated college at 15 and entered Yale Law School at 16. He worked in the Obama administration, specifically as a part of Hilary Clinton’s State Department. After leaving government, he became a Rhodes Scholar, then hosted multiple news shows on NBC. Although those shows didn’t get as much viewership as he had hoped, it’s clear that Farrow is more intelligent and accomplished than most. And this book only enhances that viewpoint. Farrow writes an interesting, gripping, and, at times, terrifying book.

On the surface, the book is a nonfiction book about how Weinstein systematically used his power to take advantage of and abuse women over decades. Farrow gets interviews from victims and witnesses of what he did, and how he kept people around him, and the news industry, quiet. But that’s only part of the story. The thing that makes this book one of the best of the decade is the fact that it is extremely well reported, but also the fact that Farrow goes through his own All the President’s Men, having to meet with sources in secret, get in fights with his bosses, and even leave his news company because they won’t publish the story. Farrow was told ‘higher ups’ didn’t think it had enough to report, though we later find out that Weinstein called the head of the company, asked for the story to be dropped, then sent over a bottle of expensive alcohol as a thank you. So not only is this a story about a monster, it’s a race against time to see if the story itself will even see the light of day. In All the President’s Men, the reporters started facing dead ends thanks to sources being told not to talk to them, lest they be fired, or worse. In Catch and Kill, the same thing becomes apparent. Throughout the story, witnesses and victims waffle back and forth about going on the record, most likely thanks to influence from Weinstein on their potential careers. Farrow himself is even the target, being followed by multiple different private investigation agencies. His whereabouts, who he talks to, and what his potential plans are with the story are all reported back to an agency in Israel run by ex-members of the Mossad. He only later finds out about this because one of the private investigator subcontractors got cold feet and told him about it. Farrow was even threatened with blackmail at one point. 

Throughout the book, we go from Farrow reporting on the Weinstein case, to Farrow reporting on the institution of news, to Farrow reporting on himself and how he tries to get the story published, despite outside pressure, and he combines all of those elements seamlessly. He also talks about the support he received, including his sister, and boyfriend-turned-fiance, whom he proposed to by writing the proposal out in a draft of the book. A form of that proposal can still be found in the pages! And even that doesn’t seem too out of place in the novel. 

Overall, Catch and Kill is a standout piece of reporting. It is thorough, entertaining, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Ronan Farrow takes what, on the surface, is already a herculean piece of reporting, and adds in drama and suspense. Farrow takes us through the story, source by source. He explains how the reporting works, what’s needed for a story to be publishable, and the competition between other news sources, and he explains them so well that a lay-person will have no problem understanding what he is talking about. In fact, everyone will probably learn something about the news or entertainment industry by reading this book. The book seems like it covers many things: workplace drama, conspiracy, crime, and some romance, but it actually all fits into one story with ease. Honestly, the book never feels like it’s straying from its path. You get exactly what the back of the book tells you, and more. It’s rare these days that something like that can advertise itself as this larger than life story, but Catch and Kill delivers. Recently, it won the Pulitzer Prize, and is infinitely worthy of the award. Basically, if you’re wondering what the Me Too movement is, why it’s important, and how these predators operate, this is the book for you. It’s exciting, suspenseful, scary, and, most importantly, real.