Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams Dazzle at a Screening for After the Wedding

In the new drama After the Wedding, Isabel (Michelle Williams) is the manager of an orphanage on the verge of bankruptcy in Kolkata, India. So she travels to New York to meet Theresa (Julianne Moore), a benefactor who could solve all her financial woes but who may be harboring ulterior motives. To reveal anything further would take away from the twists and turns the film piles on after Theresa brings Isabel to her daughter’s wedding—an invitation that sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

Though it’s not a particularly cheery premise, the stars at the center of the family drama were thankfully all smiles on Tuesday night when the Cinema Society and Chopard hosted a screening for the film. Wearing a chic Givenchy dress, Moore especially had reason to celebrate as the film represents her fourth collaboration with her husband, director Bart Freundlich.

“We’ve really only ever worked together when there’s been a part for me, and when Bart started to adapt this, it was clearly was something I was really interested in,” Moore said. “We’re great partners, and we’re producing partners on this movie too, so it’s the first time we actually worked on something from the very beginning to the end together.”

As both star and producer, Moore was involved in nearly every aspect of the production, including finding the right costar who could bring the necessary emotional intensity to the material. Moore says Williams was an obvious choice, and she emailed the actor directly to offer her the role.

“I mean, when Julianne Moore sends you an email, you pay attention!” Williams said.

While the biggest thrill of After the Wedding is seeing Williams and Moore, two of the greatest living actresses, deliver unstoppable performances, they give their costar Billy Crudup just as much room to shine as Oscar, Theresa’s artist husband. The film served as a reunion for the actor and director, who’ve remained friends since Freundlich first directed Crudup in 2001’s World Traveler.

“Bart was talking about this script he was working on, and needless to say, as an actor, you’re always like, ‘Is there a part in there for Ol’ Bill?’ ” Crudup joked. “I read the script and couldn’t quite find my way into the character, but after having a conversation with Bart and then seeing the movie on which it’s based, it became clear he was trying to tell a subtle, nuanced family drama.”

After the screening the after-party kicked off at the Crown, the chic rooftop bar in Hotel 50 Bowery. The DJ kept spirits high with a pop-heavy playlist before Abby Quinn, who plays Moore’s daughter in the film, performed a brief set including covers of “Sea of Love” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Backlit by a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline, Moore and Freundlich made the rounds, eager to hear everyone’s thoughts on the film.

After the Wedding was an especially personal project for Moore, who has made it her mission to bring dynamic and layered female characters to the screen. “It’s really wonderful to see these two self-actualized, self-created women in sort of a struggle for dominance,” Moore said. “You don’t see that in movies very often, especially when it’s between two women and not centered around a man!”