‘The Nightingale’ Director Jennifer Kent Calls Out ‘Unconscious Bias’ Over Violent Rape Scenes
“I can’t help but think there is some unconscious bias in regards to what a woman should be writing about and what a woman’s story should be,” Kent says
In an interview with TheWrap, Jennifer Kent wonders whether the violent imagery and rape scenes in her film “The Nightingale” would receive the same level of scrutiny if it was directed by a man.
Following “The Nightingale’s” Australian premiere in Sydney this June, The Telegraph and Australia’s News.com.au reported that several moviegoers walked out of the theater, quoting one woman as saying, “She’s already been raped, we don’t need to see it again.” Kent told TheWrap reports of mass walkouts were “exaggerated,” and she said that shortly after such reports surfaced, she watched a string of recent films all directed by men, all of them more violent than “The Nightingale,” but none that received backlash.
“And so I thought, hang on, what is this? What’s going on? I can’t help but think there is some unconscious bias in regards to what a woman should be writing about and what a woman’s story should be,” Kent said. “It’s very expected for men to deal in the realm of violence, and it’s not expected for women to have these stories to tell. Which makes me sad, but also very proud that I pushed through and made it.”
“The Nightingale” is the second film from Kent and the follow-up to her breakout horror hit “The Babadook.” And while “The Nightingale” is not a horror film, it’s a historical drama set during a civil war in 1825 Tasmania that contains scenes of intense violence and emotional trauma. Within roughly the film’s first 30 minutes, the movie’s protagonist Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is raped by the same man on two separate instances. She then seeks revenge on her rapist after her family suffers another act of disturbing violence.
Kent defended these images as necessary to capture the accuracy of a harsh period in Australian history, going into grim detail about the lives of women she referred to as “tragic.”
“If a woman was raped by her master, which she more often than not was, the ratio was eight or nine men to one woman,” Kent said. “If a woman was indentured to a master and raped, which was the usual, and she fell pregnant, she was sent to prison and given hard labor and punishment for the crime of unwed pregnancy. The child would’ve been taken away from her, shoved in an orphanage, neglected and more often than not, they died. For this scenario to play out the way it did, it was what the story demanded of me, for veracity’s sake, to be true. I needed to convey the experience of the fallout of colonial thinking.”
While “The Nightingale” begins as the story of how sexual violence is entwined with war, Kent said she used Clare’s tragedy as a jumping-off point to explore the racial dynamic between Clare and an Aboriginal native named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) who helps her track her rapist and former master, Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin). It quickly evolves into a parable about the need for empathy and how women and children tend to bear the brunt of war.
“I think the same mindset that created colonialism and thought that was a good idea is the same violent mind that’s present and unfortunately alive and well in the world today. It’s the same mind that’s preoccupied with power, fame and notoriety over humanity, love, kindness and care for others, and concern about others’ suffering,” Kent said. “We don’t have to look too hard within many government systems to find people like Hawkins that exist, and that are not just existing but thriving. They may not be out murdering people left, right and center, but they’re creating a lot of damage through their action. I didn’t go in to make an overtly political film, but I wanted to make a film about the effects of violence on all levels. It naturally draws parallels to the modern world.”
Kent said she was in the foyer during the Australian premiere of “The Nightingale” in Sydney and said there were not the level of walkouts that the media reported. However, she says she’s thought about the impact the film would have on audiences and is still proud of how her team and actors helped to tell the film’s story truthfully.
“Ultimately it surprised me, because I think of these things, but ultimately I don’t think it’s a bad thing for people to have those feelings about the story. Because they should be shocked. They should be outraged. These things are terrible things,” Kent said. “But in regards to people leaving, if they really are feeling so traumatized, they shouldn’t subject themselves to it. And that’s not a mark on who they are or a measure of what they’re missing out on. Most people have stayed, and it’s up to them how they want to take the film. As moviegoers, we’ve become so used to being entertained or being comforted. And the films I love in cinema history are not about comfort. They’re about provoking thought and feeling.”
“The Nightingale” opens in limited release from IFC Films on Friday.
81 Sundance Portraits From A to Z: Awkwafina to Zach Galifianakis (Exclusive Photos)
Awkwafina, "The Farewell"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Demi Moore, "Corporate Animals"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Ed Helms, "Corporate Animals"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Hilary Swank, "I Am Mother"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Clara Rugaard-Larsen, "I Am Mother"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Grant Sputore, "I Am Mother"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Sacha Jenkina and RZA, "Wu Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Peter Sarsgaard, "The Sound of Silence"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Tony Revolori, "The Sound of Silence"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Comedian Reggie Watts
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Zach Galifianakis, "The Sunlit Night"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jenny Slate, "The Sunlit Night"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Storm Reid, "Relive"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
David Oyelowo, "Relive"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Jacob Estes, "Relive"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
John Lithgow, "The Tomorrow Man"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Blythe Danner, "The Tomorrow Man"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Noble Jones, "The Tomorrow Man"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Annette Bening, "The Report"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jon Hamm, "The Report"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Maura Tierney, "The Report"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Scott Z. Burns, "The Report"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Danielle Brooks and director Chinonye Chukwu, "Clemency"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Alfre Woodard, "Clemency"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Kelvin Harrison Jr., "Luce"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jennifer Ehle, "The Wolf Hour"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Producer Cameron Crowe, "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
David Crosby, "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director AJ Eaton, "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Ryan White, "Dr. Ruth"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
"Troop Zero" directors Bert & Bertie and actress Mckenna Grace
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Alma Ha'rel, "Honey Boy"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Byron Byers, "Honey Boy"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Noah Jupe, "Honey Boy"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Clifton Collins, "Honey Boy"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Haley Joel Osment, director Joe Berlinger, Angela Sarafyan and Brandon Trost, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Matt Tyrnauer, "Where's My Roy Cohn?"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Creator Richie Mehta, "Delhi Crime Story"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Aisling Franciosi, "The Nightingale"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Gina Torres, "Selah and the Spades"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Lovie Simone and Celeste O'Connor, "Selah and the Spades"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jharrel Jerome, "Selah and the Spades"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Wendy McLendon-Covey, "Imaginary Order"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Max Burkholder, "Imaginary Order"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Debra Eisenstadt, "Imaginary Order"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Garret Price, "Love Antosha"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jim Cummings, "Greener Grass"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Alice Waddington and Danielle Macdonald, "Paradise Hills"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jim Gaffigan, "Light from Light"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Marin Ireland, "Light from Light"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Josh Wiggins, "Light from Light"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Penny Lane, "Hail Satan"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Alex Holmes and Tracy Edwards, "Maiden"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, "The Great Hack"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Chris O'Dowd, "State of the Union"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Florence Pugh, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Lena Headey, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Jack Lowden, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
WWE Superstar Paige, also known as Saraya-Jade Bevis, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Nick Frost, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Writer-director Stephen Merchant, "Fighting With My Family"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Rachel Lear, "Knock Down the House"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Alia Shawkat, "Animals"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Holliday Grainger, "Animals"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Sophie Hyde, "Animals"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Stanley Nelson, "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool"