Much like *Obvious Child’*s star Jenny Slate, Gillian Robespierre is not on board with her film being termed ‘the abortion comedy’. Instead of the brash, controversy-baiting film that moniker implies, Obvious Child is actually a warm, nuanced film filled with relatable characters that makes you so damn happy to be a girl in 2014, you could almost burst with pride.
After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Robespierre’s film (adapted from her own 2009 short) has won plaudits and, unsurprisingly, a backlash from aggressive pro-life protestors.
During the mammoth press blitz that followed (‘I’m sitting in a London hotel which is pret-ty cool!’), Gillian downed an enormous coffee and answered our burning questions about the must-see film of the summer.
Did it feel like the right time for this film?
I think it’s always the right time for a film with authentic characters. In terms of abortion legislation and what’s going on in the States, we made the short in 2009 and I thought that would be the height of the problems within our country, but it just seems to be escalating and women’s access to safe, healthy abortions is more restricted than ever.
In recent years – 2011, 2013 – during that entire time horrible things have been happening. If Donna lived in Texas she’d go to a health centre that might be closed down. So in an effort to humanise choice we set the film in New York because you really don’t find too many protestors there and we wanted to portray a side of abortion that seems to be more honest and told by a woman who is sexual and healthy and smart and gentle. Just a real woman.
What has the backlash been like?
Overall our film has been received well and we’ve had great articles where the shorthand has been ‘abortion comedy’. And while we don’t make light of abortion, I do think it’s cool that the rest of the article explains what the movie is about and they’re very positive.
Obviously there’s been a backlash and sometimes Jenny (Slate, who plays Donna) gets terrible tweets from people and our email address for the movie will get horrible, horrific photos, but those things are easy to ignore because it’s just noise; it’s not like we made this movie to convert people.
It's such a complex and personal decision and it’s something that’s always been either black or white. That’s not how people live their lives; most of us live in this grey area where we’re not sure how to feel or our feelings change from moment to moment and that’s more realistic than anything. We wanted to humanise the choice.
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What has the reaction from young women been?
They seem to love it! We spent a month travelling with the film and in each city we were met with great crowds of both men and women who thanked us and said we’ve changed their own narrative. We’ve also had girls asking if we’ve had secret cameras in their apartment because they dance to Paul Simon in their underwear, too. The people who send images of foetuses have never seen the movie so it’s not for them to say we’re horrible people based on nothing real.
If this weren’t an indie film Donna probably would’ve changed her mind...
Our culture has definitely brainwashed us to believe the ‘white picket fence’ happy ending with marriage and children, even if you’re not emotionally and financially ready for that. People who’ve seen the trailer and read articles about the movie still trick themselves into believing that’s the ending we'’e going with; they still wonder whether she’ll have the abortion.
That’s so funny because it’s not a spoiler alert and we’ve been very open about it and yet people still think the only way the movie could possibly end is with them getting married. It’s fun to take that expectation and modernise it and hopefully Hollywood, not takes notes from us, but starts listening to people.
I think there’s a hunger out there for content that has originality and takes the nuances of life and puts them on screen in a very exciting, fun, new way.
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What do you think of female comedians being a voice for young women?
It’s exciting that people are able to hit a nerve and get their material out there. I think it’s partly culture but also accessibility with YouTube and that stuff. I don’t necessarily think it’s a time for women in comedy – I think it’s a time for great original voices.
What are you working on post-Obvious Child?
The next subject I’m tackling with my partner Elisabeth Holm – who produced Obvious Child – is the subject of divorce. I’m getting married in October, so it’s fun going into my marriage with very open eyes.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.