MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 21, 2025: THE ASSESSMENT
Director Fleur Fortune’s somber sci-fi drama The Assessment puts a bleakly dystopian spin on the old saying that “if you wait for the perfect time to have a baby, you’ll never have one.” With unsettling keenness, it explores the psychological stress that a couple (played by Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel) undergoes while being evaluated for their potential as parents in a world where parenthood is strictly regulated by the government.
In the not-so-distant, climate-change-ravaged future, Mia (Olsen) and Aaryan (Patel) live in a spare, isolated home on the coast. Aaryan works diligently on perfecting virtual pets (since all of the real ones had to be culled years ago to help conserve resources), and Mia spends her days in the greenhouse, carefully breeding hardy plants in efforts to bolster the food supply. All they’re missing, they think, is a baby — but in order to get one, they have to pass The State’s rigorous assessment process. Enter Virginia (Alicia Vikander), who arrives with plans to stay for a week to observe the couple and deliver her verdict on whether they’re ready for parenthood.
Initially cold and clinical, Virginia seems intent on pushing every single one of Mia and Aaryan’s buttons in the process of carrying out her task, goading them to the point of impatience and anger. When she begins actually acting like a child to test their ability to respond to her behavior, the situation rapidly escalates — and deteriorates. They question themselves, they turn on each other, and they lash out at Virginia, then rush to apologize and placate her, knowing that she holds their future in her hands.
All of which is really pretty on the nose when it comes to the actual experience of becoming a parent and raising a child. Veteran parents may find themselves tsking at the screen when Mia and Aaryan make newbie mistakes (you NEVER leave a toddler unattended, anywhere, ever), but they’ll also empathize when Virginia makes it nearly impossible for them to do anything other than care for her. Vikander is a marvel in her role, her shifts in Virginia’s demeanor apparently effortless. And Olsen’s Mia will be relatable to any woman who’s ever struggled to balance her sense of self with her duties as a caregiver. All of this, combined with Fortune’s stylish direction and Jan Houllevigue’s precise production design, makes The Assessment the kind of film that lingers, its themes rattling around in your head the way that the wind rattles the film’s stark landscape. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Sandie Angulo Chen: With its stellar cast and unconventional premise, The Assessment presents a gripping sci-fi dystopia. In a future where the State tightly controls population, a privileged, high-achieving couple—both accomplished scientists—apply for a rigorous seven-day evaluation by a state-appointed assessor for the chance to become parents. Played by Himesh Patel and Elizabeth Olsen, the couple is cautiously optimistic—after all, they rank among the top 0.1% of citizens! But their assessor, Virginia (Alicia Vikander), is no mere bureaucrat with probing questions. Instead, she methodically dismantles their sense of control, embodying the erratic stages of early childhood—from infantile helplessness to toddler tantrums—in a series of increasingly invasive and humiliating interactions. French visual artist-turned-filmmaker Fleur Fortuné makes an assured feature directorial debut with this unsettling and thought-provoking drama. Vikander delivers a marvelously unnerving performance, while Patel and Olsen captivate as a brilliant couple whose bond is tested to its limits. Though the script skimps on the worldbuilding, The Assessment remains a chilling and unforgettable character study.
Leslie Combemale What does it mean to be a parent? How much should any member of a society accept in the way of governmental control just for the sake of comfort? And the most timely of all, why is women’s bodily autonomy always on the chopping block? These are the questions posed in The Assessment, and they are answered to varying degrees of success. It is the performances of the three leads that keeps the film compelling, as does the very different choices they make in the course of the story. This is a very fine feature directorial debut for Fleur Fortune, who shows she can leverage the talents of three very talented performers to great effect.
Jennifer Merin The Assessment is filmmaker Fleur Fortune’s riveting sci-fi thriller about state-controlled human reproduction in a post-apocalyptic future. Strict population control is the order of the day. Couples who want to have and raise a child must be approved by a government assessor who has absolute yay or nay decision-making authority over reproduction. The standard evaluation involves having an assigned assessor in the couple’s home for a period of time during which the assessor pretends to be the couple’s child and constantly tests how the couple relates to each other and how they handle all the various familial situations that arise. The period of assessment for Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel). a loving couple who desperately want a baby, is particularly rough because the behavior of their assessor (Alicia Vikander) is entirely disruptive, perhaps even psychotic. No spoilers here, but this beautifully crafted film is a hellova ridel One that we do not wish to see as a reality in our future!!!
Sherin Nicole Bold, intimate, and searingly human, The Assessment pulls us into a crumbling near-future where morality is weighed on a disturbing scale. Starring the opposing duo of Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander alongside Himesh Patel, the film explores a world where you need a license to be a parent. Olsen is a study in raw need as a hopeful mother desperate to pass the test, while Vikander’s eerily robotic but mercurial evaluator adds layers of tension to every interaction. Directed with sparse dystopian chills by Fleur Fortuné, the film is itself an assessment of how far we’ll go to feel fully human in a world that is slowly sapping humanity away. Forcing us to question the systems we trust and how time and place redefine, not only our ethics, but how hard our buttons can be pushed before they splinter.
Nell Minow: The Assessment is a disturbing cautionary tale with final scenes that are powerful and heartbreaking. Director Fleur Fortune shows an impressive control of tone and gets exceptionally sensitive performances from Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander in challenging roles.
Liz Whittemore Director Fleur Fortuné masterfully creates universal scenarios that induce tension, and then she cranks up the volume. The Assessment authentically mimics the anxiety and stress between couples once children enter their world. There is no denying the film is a twisted form of therapy and trauma exercise and a surprising climate change warning. It perfectly captures the pure chaos and sacrifice of parenting. The Assessment is a horrifying power trip. Read full review.
Cate Marquis In Fleur Fortune’s dystopian sci-fi drama The Assessment, a loving, perfect couple (played by Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel), live in a large modern house on a seashore. But the house in under a climate-controlled dome, and while advanced technology seems to have give them every comfort, the government has placed strict limits on some aspects of life, particularly reproduction, to maintain that comfortable lifestyle. The couple has applied for permission to have a child, and they have been fortunate enough to reach the final step in the approval process, called the assessment. An assessor (Alicia Vikander) arrives, who will live them for 7 days, observing and testing, to judge their fitness to be parents. The assessor’s visit reveals not only many things about both these people but also startling truths about this seemingly-pleasant world.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: The Assessment
Directors: Fleur Fortune
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Running Time: 109 minutes
Language: English
Screenwriters: Nell Garfath Cox, Dave Thomas, John Donnelly
Lead Performers: Elizabeth Olsen, Himesh Patel, Alicia Vikander
Distribution Company: Magnolia Pictures
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
