In the future depicted in THE ASSESSMENT, everyone gets to live a calm life but the government maintains a strict control of resources. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) are nervous about their application to become parents, but they have everything going for them. They live in a peaceful, secluded home where Aaryan has a studio for his genetic research and Mia maintains a greenhouse as part of her work as a botanical scientist. The two are assigned an assessor named Virginia (Alicia Vikander), who comes to evaluate them in their home over seven days. Virginia asks them invasive and awkward questions about everything from how they first met to how often they have sex. But this is just the beginning — as Virginia puts Mia and Aaryan through simulations of the potential horrors children can inflict on their parents. As the tests become increasingly abstract and confounding, the right answers seem less obvious and the assessment foments a rift between the couple.
This debut from director Fleur Fortuné is striking for its precise control of story, performance and production design. Olsen and Patel capture the psychological turmoil of two people having their lives forensically examined, while Vikander gives an exceptional performance that’s surprising all the way to the end.
“The satire, deceptively obvious, cuts sharp. Or, more aptly: It hits close to home…. THE ASSESSMENT is often feral at taking apart our current moment.” —Kurt Halfyard, Screen Anarchy “A compelling genre thriller that manages to build a world that feels both genuinely new and depressingly realistic if human society goes too far down the wrong path.” —Christian Zilko, IndieWire “Though powered by incredible performances and worldbuilding, what truly leads THE ASSESSMENT to have an exceptional final product is its refreshingly original premise.” —Isabella Soares, Collider
