TORONTO – In a political landscape where reproductive rights have been curtailed and are increasingly at risk, the subject matter of “The Assessment,” a world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, should percolate. Set some time and somewhere in the future, a couple has applied for the right to have a child. A decision only determined by the State. As is protocol, an Assessor has been sent to determine whether the couple is worthy of this rare opportunity. And even taking into account their wildest fears, this Assessor turns out to be more than either bargained for.
At least 100 years from now, potentially more, civilization has been divided into a protective “State” where human beings take a daily supplement to extend their lives seemingly indefinitely, and the “Old World,” a post-apocalyptic environment where few survival is measured in months, not years. Residents of the State are sheltered by a protective dome and a government that dictates rigorous population control under the guise of peace and prosperity. This isn’t necessarily groundbreaking science fiction, but in terms of world-building screenwriters Dave Thomas, Nell Garfath-Cox, and John Donnelly, as well as director Fleur Fortuné, at least find ways to make you at least curious about how it works and how humanity got there in the first place. Unfortunately, you’ll have to let your imagination run wild if you’re looking for answers to any of those questions. Fortuné, best known for her music videos for M83 and Drake, and her screenwriters are more curious about the human dynamic in this scenario. To say they have few insights to share is something of an understatement.
Our heroes, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) live and work in a modern home near the ocean. We eventually learn (perhaps far too late) that this dwelling is rare and a genuine privilege, but at first, you have to assume this is common for residents of this future nation. The former is a specialist in rare planet species (it’s hinted that many animals and plants have been wiped out) while the latter has almost cracked the code in creating virtual pets that you can touch and feel in person (in the not-so-distant past the population was forced to euthanize their pets for safety reasons).
The couple is nervous when their Assessor, Virginia (Alicia Vikander) arrives. The test can take up to seven days, and the Assessor will live on their premises during this period. The first day featured stressful one-on-one sit-downs with each prospective parent, but that was to be expected. Your first hint that Virginia will be pushing their boundaries is when she manipulates her way into swapping the guest bedroom for the couple’s chamber. Things take a turn the following morning when she shows up to breakfast in character as a toddler. And a cranky one at that.
Mostly acting as a child, Virginia plays a psychological mind game with Mia and Aaryan under the guise of testing their aptitude as parents. She expertly finds their breaking points, often putting her own life at risk (although why is never truly clear). At first appalled by their treatment, Mia and Aaryan are either so competitive or so desperate to be parents, that they eventually succumb to participating in Virginia’s elaborate ruse. It’s a fascinating narrative exercise for a brief moment, but once Virginia starts playing baby the screenwriting trio’s aims become more obvious than they likely intended.
This is all sort of disheartening because there are moments of genuine intrigue that hint at what the movie could have been. When Virginia schedules a last-minute dinner party as a test for the couple, a longtime member of the State (emphasis on longtime), Evie (Minnie Driver), arrives to express her disdain for the proceedings. Practically stealing the movie in one extended scene, Driver gleefully delivers almost two minutes of exposition that immediately makes your ears perk up. Everything she’s describing, the class conflict, humanity’s battle with one another. That’s the movie you want to see. Sure, Vikander and Olsen are superb as Mia has to constantly stop herself from wringing Virginia’s neck, but the whole endeavor increasingly feels flat. What Evie is waxing on about? That’s fascinating.
Thematically, the scenario is even more thin. Whether Mia and Aaryan should have any rights of self-determination is eventually glossed over. The focus becomes whether the couple will survive Virgina’s tests or embarrassingly fail after humiliating themselves time and time again. And when Mia realizes she’s “suffocating” under this political regime, it almost comes out of nowhere. And that’s without contemplating the “twist” in the third act, that makes the events preceding it feel as pointless as a house of cards collapsing. Granted, that revelation is certainly a more interesting storyline than what we’ve experienced so far.
Credit where credit is due. Fortuné, making her feature directorial debut, demonstrates tantalizing cinematic skill. She’s such a confident filmmaker that you have to hope this isn’t her sole excursion on the big screen. Along with production designer Jan Houllevigue and costume designer Sarah Blenkinsop, and cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck, the aesthetic of this world is tantalizingly distinct. The rocky coast of Tenerife, Spain provides a surprisingly desolate canvas and the minimal use of visual effects grounds the proceedings more than one would expect. That’s rare considering the multitude of cinematic and episodic entries in this genre over the past decade. You almost want to step into this world and explore more of it. Although perhaps not to revisit this specific tale. [C+]
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