In an Auspicious Debut, Director Fleur Fortuné Leans on Smart Sci-Fi To Explore Provocative Themes in ‘The Assessment’

Every once in a while, a first-time filmmaker comes out with a movie that surprises with its precise execution, the depth of its themes, and the unique audiovisual ambience it creates. One such film arrives this week: “The Assessment,” the debut independent picture by a French visual artist who hitherto has directed mostly music videos, Fleur Fortuné. Set in an authoritarian, futuristic world, its story revolves around a couple seeking approval to become parents. Exploring a stilted, stifled society sheltered from a wider dystopian landscape, the film impresses with its dark humor, resonant intelligence, and emotional truth.Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel play Mia and Aaryan, partners who welcome Alicia Vikander’s assessor character, Virginia, into their home for a week-long evaluation to determine their suitability for parenting. Virginia tells them they’re within the “top 0.1 percentile of citizens,” with their upper echelon status reflected in a minimalist, modular home, Aaryan’s remote job as a designer of virtual pets, and Mia’s scientific cultivation of all their food in a nearby greenhouse. Their house sits in an isolated desert terrain above a sea, where faint effects in the sky signify “atmospheric dome disturbances,” hinting at a protective canopy enveloping the world in which they live. They both seem smart, mature, and more than competent to produce and raise a child, but normal methods of reproduction are prohibited, and an assessment is required since “every child deserves the best possible start.” Alicia Vikander in ‘The Assessment.’ Via Magnolia PicturesDivided into chapters based on Virginia’s seven-day stay, the film’s first act feels like a sci-fi drama that embraces its oddness and even expands it into comedy at times. On the first day, Virginia asks the couple about their sex life and even observes them in the act later at night, creating a creepy, almost perverted atmosphere. The next day, the buttoned-up assessor suddenly starts behaving like a child at the kitchen table. Aaryan’s more playful method toward their guest/”child” proves more effective than his partner’s tough stance, with Virginia’s calling him “daddy” causing Mia’s defenses to fire off sardonically. The two women do bond eventually when Mia finds that she can go along with Virginia’s playacting, though it’s not often clear when the act is dropped.The fourth day brings the film’s centerpiece scene, as the couple is compelled “by the state” to host a dinner party, with Virginia in full petulant mode. Two former colleagues of each partner are present, and it’s revealed that their relationships went beyond the professional. Conversation segues to political matters, and there’s talk of “borderlands,” where Mia’s mother, a dissident who spoke against the government, lives. One guest, Evie (Minnie Driver), laments the charade of the evening’s gathering as it will only lead to population growth, particularly as people “in the dome” do not grow old any longer due to a prescribed substance taken daily. When asked about her age, Evie dryly responds she’s 153 years old. This quip/fact serves as a preamble to an acidic monologue on environmental collapse and how the world became a dystopia, providing Ms. Driver with great lines that she delivers with minimal fuss and maximum derision. Later that night, Virginia finally calls Mia “mommy,” then joins the couple in their bed, like a scared child, in an awkward calm before the storm of the final few days of “assessment.” As Aaryan, Mr. Patel plays a role slightly akin to his Emmy-nominated turn in the similarly post-apocalyptic “Station Eleven,” one that highlights his low-key affability and fatherly aspect, though the actor also portrays the character’s masculine insecurity effectively. Yet it’s Ms. Olsen and Ms. Vikander who really shine. The two award-winning actresses convey incredible insight into Mia and Virginia’s personalities via physical, vocal, and emotional inflections, and both are so commanding onscreen that at times it can feel like a battle of the cheekbones as well as wills when they’re in the same scene. Their characters seem dissatisfied with their lives, despite generally dignified demeanors, and director Fortuné nurtures this unease all the way until the film’s emotional climax, when Mia confronts Virginia about the harrowing week and devastating revelations come to light.Production designer Jan Houllevigue and art director Philippe Mayanobe have deservedly won accolades for the film’s elegant, modular interiors, for the most part resplendent with color, tiles, Rothko-esque paintings, and even Mondrian stained glass, giving many scenes a church-like light smartly leveraged by cinematographer Magnus Jønck. Despite only a few key outdoor scenes, the location scouts should also be commended for choosing striking settings in Tenerife. The visual effects team, too, demonstrates consummate skill in illustrating Aaryan’s lifelike pets. The husband-and-wife screenwriting team of Dave Thomas and Nell Garfath-Cox, along with an assist from John Donnelly, delve into many issues — too many, some might say — including elitism, oppressive regimes, chaos and order, power dynamics, guilt, and motherhood. Like an assessor herself, though, Ms. Fortuné melds these themes seamlessly with her sharp direction, delivering a provocative statement on free will — and a blessedly adult, subtly envisioned science fiction film.

In an Auspicious Debut, Director Fleur Fortuné Leans on Smart Sci-Fi To Explore Provocative Themes in ‘The Assessment’

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