The Assessment

    The longer I live, the more I believe that many dystopian movies might actually be onto something. Every day, you turn on the TV, and it seems like some environmental or population crisis is poised to trim the human species of its excess. Of course, these could just be scenarios from movies, but at this point, anything seems possible. Fleur Fortune’s new film, The Assessment, envisions a world like this—where couples must undergo an evaluation to determine if they are fit to become parents.

In a remote location near the ocean, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) live a quiet and successful life. Aaryan has developed a groundbreaking program that can recreate animals as pets, while Mia is a botanist with a top-notch greenhouse to pursue her work. It seems they have everything they could want—except for a child. However, in their world, having a baby the traditional way is not an option. Instead, they must undergo an official assessment, and they have been selected for one. Their assessor, Virginia (Alicia Vikander), arrives and lays out the rules and expectations. She even takes up residence in Mia and Aaryan’s bedroom, claiming that the bed in the guest room has a noisy spring.

Mia and Aaryan want nothing more than to be parents, so they do their best to accommodate all of Virginia’s demands. But part of the test involves Virginia acting as a child, pushing the hopeful parents-to-be to their limits. As the days progress, her challenges grow more and more intense, and the couple’s relationship is pushed to the brink.

Written by Nell Gargath, Dave Thomas, and John Donnell, The Assessmentis a clever and original sci-fi drama that offers an extraordinary human look at love and society’s attempt to control people. Fortune creates a visually stunning world that feels almost like a character itself—structured, vibrant, yet eerily detached from humanity. The setup is brutal, as the assessment is essentially a seven-day job interview that escalates into absurdity, with moments that could even be considered darkly comedic. But it’s not always amusing; amid the test’s trials, the film delves into profound tragedy, exploring the deep yearning for children in a world that no longer feels human. It’s difficult to categorize The Assessment, but thriller comes closest—though, for me, “fascinating” is the best word to describe it.

The Assessment offers compelling ideas about the qualifications for parenthood and the relationships between parents and children. While the film may not fully reach the ambitious heights it strives for, strong writing and captivating performances make it well worth watching. Olsen, Patel, and Vikander all deliver nuanced performances, but Vikander stands out the most. She is mesmerizing as Virginia, balancing psychological manipulation with eerie precision, making every moment with her both gripping and unsettling. When you combine these performances with a thought-provoking story, you get a film that leaves a lasting impression. The film is both an intellectual and emotional experience—one that makes you think while delivering a gripping, provocative narrative. I’m all in on smart cinema like this, and I can confidently assess that you will be too.