On Tuesday, January 28, Roxane Gay, Marielle Heller, Amber Tamblyn, Elaine Welteroth & Michelle Williams hosted a special New York screening of The Assistant at The Metrograph, an independent movie theater in the Lower East Side.
The Assistant, directed by Kitty Green and released by Bleeker Street on January 31, coincides with the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault trial. Weinstein, who is clearly the villain in the movie, is never explicitly named and his face is never shown.
** Spoiler Alert
The entire film takes place in a single day at an unnamed New York film production office; it follows Jane (played by Emmy award winner Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer who is the new junior assistant to the powerful head of the company. The film, at times achingly slow, still holds our attention as we watch the small details of Jane’s everyday office routine. We see her wake before the sun rises, make herself coffee and cereal, print out the daily schedule, take phone messages, and then, alarmingly, scrub a mysterious stain off her boss’s couch and find a stray earring on the floor. Although The Assistant never allows us to witness the occurrence of sexual abuse, we understand through Jane’s eyes what is happening. The movie reveals Jane’s helplessness; when she tries to take a stand and report her boss’s actions, she is met with contempt and indifference, and realizes how little power she has to change the system of which she is a part.
On the red carpet before the screening, guests were treated to vouchers for popcorn and movie snacks, and as they snacked they mingled with talent from the film including Kitty Green (writer/director/producer), Scott Macaulay (producer), James Schamus (producer), Jen Dana (producer), Juliana Canfield (cast), Jon Orsini (cast), Dagmara Domińczyk (cast), Juliana Canfield (Cast), Patrick Wilson (cast), Clara Wong (cast), Daoud Heidami (cast), Makenzie Leigh (cast), Bregje Heinen (cast), Alexander Chaplin (cast), and Noah Robbins (cast). As Bregje remarked that she was excited to be there and so proud of this movie. She thinks this film will resonate for years to come. Mackenzie added that the world needs movies like this, dynamic movies that will get people talking and contribute to the ongoing conversation about abuse and power and women’s role in the workplace. Before the film began, it was announced that Julia Garner was unable to attend the screening because she was at the airport boarding a plane to Marrakech, but that she sent her love.
You can watch the trailer below:
