Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba teamed up to attend the premiere of their new film The Killer Inside Me last night wearing contrasting outfits. The question of who looked better is a matter of opinion, with the actresses looking almost the polar opposite of one another at the Tribeca Film Festival.
But Kate Hudson, who turned 31 last week, certainly took centre stage as she made her way into the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York wearing a garish black and white Louis Vuitton poncho over her LBD, which was also by the French label.
The Killer Inside Me follows a charming, unassuming small town sheriff's deputy (played by Casey Affleck) juggling his long-term girlfriend (Hudson) and a prostitute (Alba) he falls for while grappling with the sociopathic tendencies inside him.
The controversial film takes place in West Texas during the 1950s and is based on Jim Thompson's pulp novel. In January the Toronto Sun reported that many cinema-goers left the first screening at the 1,200-seat Eccles Theatre at the Sundance Film Festival after being disturbed by the gory sex scenes and the sado-masochistic violence.
Alba herself raised a few eyebrows when she left midway through the premiere. In the film's most graphic scene, Affleck dons a pair of black leather gloves and repeatedly punches Alba's character in the face until it's a bloody pulp. But both actresses have defended the movie and praised director Michael Winterbottom for staying true to the original novel.
Hudson said: 'This is my third movie with Casey...so I immediately felt excited about having an opportunity to do that again. And it's such a great role for Casey, and it was an interesting role for me - just really meaty scenes, you know, different and dark.' While Alba spoke of her excitement at working with the director: She said: 'I've done a lot of movies that are big and commercial and I just really wanted to work with Michael Winterbottom. This was purely a creative decision.
And the British also defended his film, after he was criticised during a question and answer session at Sundance earlier this year. He told reporters: 'The violence is shocking in the book and it’s shocking in the film. It’s not a police procedural.
'The story is being told by someone who’s crazy. The story is the way he tells it and sees it, not the way it happened. The film has no sense of pleasure in the violence.' Her hair was styled into a glamorous retro do, with strong make up to match and a pair of patent pumps by Brian Atwood - finished off with jewels by Cartier.
While Jessica Alba also took a step back in time, seemingly influenced by the sixties with her bohemian ensemble consisting of a sheer white lightly-pleated maxi dress by Chloe matched with dark-coloured strappy heels and a cream handbag. Alba's hair fitted in with the hippy style of her dress, and she wore several chains round her neck to complete the look.
Kate told U.S. Entertainment Tonight that her six-year-old Ryder son gave her last-minute fashion advice for the red carpet. She said: 'He is very, very, very particular about the things that he likes, and he's very vocal about when he doesn't like something I'm wearing.'