Today a New York Court of Appeals overturned the 2020 rape conviction of Harvey Weinstein. Thankfully the serial abuser and rapist remains in prison because of other convictions, but damn, what a kick in the teeth to all the brave women who came forward to testify against him.
Louisette Geiss, the co-writer and lyricist of the musical “The Right Girl” who accused Weinstein of trying to force her to watch him masturbate in 2008, called Thursday’s ruling “a sad reminder of the uphill battle that women and survivors of sexual predators continue to face to be heard, validated, and ultimately, receive justice.” [via The 19th]
In dishonor of piece-of-shit Weinstein, why not revisit 2020’s quietly brutal The Assistant, which depicts a day in the working life of Jane (Julia Garner, in a wise and perceptive performance), who has an unglamorous low-level job at a prestigious boutique film production company in New York. Harvey Weinstein and the cesspit corporate environment he fostered was the clear inspiration for writer-director Kitty Green, and as we witness the dull drudgery of Jane’s office chores, we know what misdeeds and crimes she is unwittingly facilitating.
And when Jane herself begins to get a clue, and tries to speak up about it… well, the malice and hostility of her work environment very much echos the larger culture, as illustrated by today’s court ruling. This is bold, angry filmmaking, and a rewatch today will be even more rage-inducing.
US: stream on Kanopy and Max (via Prime); rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
UK: rent on BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
See The Assistant at Letterboxd for more viewing options, including all other global regions.
As I understood it, there were procedural errors made in the original trial by the prosecution. But Harvey isn’t out of the woods as the prosecution is allowed to retry this trial with a new judge. And they’ve already stated that they will do this.