The Assessment is a psychological sci-fi thriller following Mia and Aaryan, a wealthy couple applying to be parents in the strictly controlled New World. Their final hurdle is to pass a seven-day assessment conducted by Virginia (Alicia Vikander), who makes sure to test every grain of Mia and Aaryan’s patience and sanity. The trials get more unusual, intrusive, and repulsive at every turn, but they’re not just shocking: they get you thinking about what it really means to raise a person when circumstances are bleak; what the world can come to once nature finally fights back; and what humans are capable of when deprived of humanity. These are weighty themes, but The Assessment carries them out with style and substance. It’s breathtaking to look at, and the performances (especially by Olsen and Vikander) will knock you off your feet.
"A compelling genre thriller that manages to build a world that feels both genuinely new and depressingly realistic if human society goes too far down the wrong path."
— Christian Zilko
"The first feature from [Fleur Fortuné] has a ton of style, and signals from the beginning her confident use of framing, texture and color."
— Christy Lemire
In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple faces scrutiny by an evaluator over seven days to determine their fitness for childbearing.
In the near future, when limited resources restrict parenthood to a select few, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) undergo a rigorous assessment that tests the limits of their patience, desire, and trust in the New World they live in.
The sci-fi elements are a great touch—believable and near, but still quite remarkable and ambitious.
Forget protection, just send in Virginia for all your birth-control needs.
