The Assessment

Directed by Fleur Fortune, The Assessment is set in a dystopian future where a couple’s only way to have children is through a government-controlled programme. It’s a seven-day psychological assessment to see if they’re suitable parents, done by an assessor whose word is final. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) are the couple, and Virginia (Alicia Vikander) is the assessor.

This is how the test works: Virginia lives with them for a week, switching between her role as assessor and their ‘child’ to see how they cope with being pushed emotionally, physically, and psychology.

In this world, global warming has reached a critical point, and there’s been an outbreak of a virus that’s believed to have been transmitted through animals, both wild and domestic. Given all that, the government has limited recourses and has therefore divided the population between those who follow the new regime and those who don’t. If you agree, you take a government issued drug that prolongs your life so you can contribute to society. If you disagree you live on the outskirts and fend for yourself.

Mia and Aaryan fall into the former and live in a house that’s protected by an atmospheric shield – a mini ozone layer. Mia’s role is to carefully cultivate algae and minerals she finds to grow and produce food that meet their nutritionist needs, while Aaryan is a designer of holographic creatures.

Yes, as a set-up, it’s very bleak. But, barring the last 20 minutes, we don’t see any of this. We’re mostly going off vibes and details from the characters. The story is more about using this authoritarian regime to explore something deeply human and emotive. 

The film’s set over 7 surreal days of the testing, and you’re very much there with Mia and Aaryan as they navigate the test, their relationship, ‘parenthood’ and deal with Virginia.  

It’s a discombobulating whirlwind of a week, surreal, unnerving, tense, emotional, and touching. At times I questioned the editing, as there are moments that drag and feel like it’s over embellishing the point, but once you reach the conclusion you realise the necessity of these scenes, the carefully crafted moments.  

The film is a surreal art house, indie production, delivered by rich performances from most of the cast. Next to the artistic styling of the film, which I loved. The main point of focus is the comparison between contrasting characters, Aaryan and Mia.

He’s the introverted, somewhat emotionally stunted character, more at home surrounded by technology, which he controls, and creating digital animals in his lab. His work has earned him a level of prestige in his field, but he’s stuck trying to replicate the feel of the fur, the smell of them – anything natural. He represents all the flaws of the new world order. He therefore doesn’t have the same emotional intelligence or gravitas as Mia and Virginia.

Elizabeth Olsen as Mia gives a rich profound performance, and next to Vikander the two are titans of this surreal arthouse style film. They know how to play the surreal and ground their characters in such great emotional depth.  

Mia’s connection to the old world is shown through themes of natural symbolism. The opening scene depicts her swimming as a child, she’s also frequently surrounded by the elements, cultivating the natural environment to create food for them both, and is entirely self-sufficient, another thing she has over the new world.

It perfectly places her as the lynch pin to this world of technology and cold disconnection, to pull back the curtain and find the truth of the assessment. She has the motivation because it’s the only option to have a child naturally.

The wild card of the bunch is Virginia. Her unpredictable behaviour is seemingly erratic and played incredibly well as both assessor and an adult playing a child. While I would love to go into more detail, her story is what gives the film’s third act its landing.   

While hope the context for the film doesn’t put you off, because there’s a rich character driven story, I know the film won’t be everyone’s vibe; it’s a surreal art house picture but with compelling themes.

What the film does best is slowly give you pieces of a puzzle, which it then puts together in the last 20 minutes to leave a lasting impression. The films use of ethics, morality, freewill and motherhood are all poignant and delivered in rich and engaging performances.

Overall 4/5

The Assessment is available on Prime Video if you’re subscribed.