THE ASSESSMENT

United Kingdom, Germany, USA | 2024 | 114m | English

Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel

Director(s): Fleur Fortuné

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.

Courtesy of TIFF

TIFF 24 REVIEW BY: DARREN ZAKUS

DATE: DECEMBER 4, 2024

RATING: 4 out of 5

The Assessment is a chilling and shocking science fiction thriller that uses dark comedy moments to great effect to help get across its unsettling message, that truly comes to life thanks to the spectacular trio of lead performances from Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel.

All good science fiction stories have commentary that should shock, and occasionally scare audiences, and The Assessment has plenty of that. Set in a futuristic environment where natural resources are scarce and the government controls population growth by approving couples to procreate, viewers are not ready for the madness that unfolds in this film. At times laugh out loud hilarious, and at other times truly outrageous due to the events that unfold on screen, it’s one screenplay that is heavy on dialogue, shocking moments and conflict to make this single location film one nerve wracking experience. This is only amplified by Magnus Nordenhof Jønck’s cinematography which creates a claustrophobic atmosphere for the film as tension rises between our characters with a mundane colouring scheme to emulate the bleak future faced by the world. It’s hard to say much about this film without heading into spoiler territory, but the writing is precise, incredibly intelligent and fully embraces the science fiction themes at play, leaving the characters in a fascinating place that will be dissected by viewers long after the film has ended. Reactions are bound to be divisive, not just because of what the assessor puts the film’s main couple through, but because of the unbelievably chilling ending which may just be the cherry on top of an already spellbinding cinematic experience.

Audiences are used to the brilliance of Vikander’s work, especially when in a colder and more calculating antagonist role, but The Assessment features the best performance of her career since 2014’s Ex Machina. As Virginia, the assessor sent to determine whether Mia and Aaryan are approved to have a child, Vikander changes personas instantly within a scene, giving an unhinged performance that will have your jaw hitting the floor constantly throughout the film. Starting off as a cold and calculating government assessor, she embodies the totalitarian government’s view of new children entering society given their precarious situation with an icy presence that fills the entire film with tension. But once the test starts, Vikander captures the mindset of a small child with a destructive and temperamental nature that is both hilarious and profoundly disturbing. With no sense of right and wrong, or a higher understanding of life, Vikander ensures that Virginia wreaks havoc on Mia and Aaryan with a pitch perfect performance, jumping back to her icy cold assessor persona on a dime as required by the story. It truly is a performance that lets Vikander show off her immense skills as an actress that very few would be able to pull off so masterfully.

Contrasting Vikander’s calculated performance is the performance of Olsen as Mia, the woman trying desperately for a child. Locked in a battle with Vikander’s Virginia, Olsen has the more vulnerable role of the film and stuns with a nuanced performance with a range of emotions as she tries to calmly react to the chaos caused by Virginia while working through memories of her childhood and her own mother, which haunt her. And completing the lead trio is Patel as Aaryan, who once again differs greatly from Vikander and Olsen with his character’s more self indulgent personality. Patel plays the role well, capturing Aaryan’s desire for a child, even if there is an unsettling undertone that Patel brings to it as Aaryan’s desire to have a child, in whatever form, by whatever means that truly makes you question whether he would be a good parent or if he is doing this to fill a void within himself. It’s predominantly the trio of Vikander, Olsen and Patel in the film, with very few opportunities for supporting roles given the nature of the story, but Minnie Driver steals her scene with one of the most uncomfortable and unforgettable parts of the film.

Captivating, hilarious and unpredictable are only words to describe The Assessment, which may be one of the best original science fiction films in recent memory, but they don’t capture its absolute brilliance. Blending a tense science fiction thriller with a dark comedy, creating a film that is both wildly entertaining and thought provoking, this is one cinematic experience you won’t soon forget. Led by a truly spectacular performance of Alicia Vikander that will make your jaw hit the floor constantly throughout the film, with Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel being equally as impressive, The Assessment is not only science fiction done properly, but a chilling exploration of control and the lengths that humankind will go to to achieve what they most desire.