When the fate of all humanity is at stake, who gets to be a parent? The best sci-fi doesn’t require laser guns and spaceships, at least not for me. The best present versions of society that aren’t that different from our own. Take a controversial policy and extend it to dangerous extremes, or place it within a dystopian, totalitarian system, and you’ve got the making for greatness. Fleur Fortune’s directorial debut The Assessment is one such film and it comes very close to greatness. Imagine China’s “one child” policy taken to the nth degree, splash in a bit of Black Mirror weirdness, and two strong performances by Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander and you’ve got an intriguing, if overly ambitious examination of state-controlled procreation at the end of the world.
The Assessment takes place in a future devastated by global climate change, necessitating that the privileged few live inside of isolated dome structures, undoubtedly separated from the riff raff who can’t afford such things. We hear of them and the “Old World”, outside in an environment of intense heat and desolation. Food is scarce, pets no longer exist, and the government doesn’t allow procreation without an assessment, a week-long test that aspiring parents must pass if they hope to have a child.
Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel play married scientists Mia and Aaryan. They seem like decent enough people living in their high-tech domicile. Mia uses her gifts to grow food in her expansive greenhouse. Aaryan’s underground lab is used to help design sentient AI that can replicate pets, realizing that humanity kinda needs them just to maintain sanity. They’re ready to add a child to their little (lonely?) family unit, and have been approved for assessment. Alicia Vikander plays their assessor, Virginia, who coldly begins by asking them simple enough questions to gauge their suitability as parents.
But soon, the test gets downright strange when Mia and Aaryan are forced into roleplaying with Virginia as the adult woman portrays a spoiled, whiny child. The fundamental oddity of the situation is part of what makes The Assessment so engrossing. You can’t shake that uncomfortable feeling as Virgina whines, throws food, cries, and even wets herself, this grown woman proving to be way too good at what she’s doing. It’s clear there’s something a bit unhinged about Virginia, but what can Mia and Aaryan do about it? They need her to pass the test because these opportunities come along so rarely. On the other hand, Virginia is making it nearly impossible to pass the test and have a life that doesn’t involve caring for her. Sounds about right, eh, parents?
The more bizarre The Assessment gets, the better it is. Virginia’s performance pushes Mia and Aaryan’s various issues to the surface. One of the great things this movie does is dole out bits of information during times of peak stress. We learn about Mia’s parents and why they are nowhere to be found. An awkward dinner party scene (at which Virginia is a subtle terror) involving close friends (Minnie Driver, India Varma, Nicholas Pinnock, Charlotte Richie) exposes long-held biases and deep, dark secrets that push the couple’s fitness to the breaking point. Driver’s character, a bullying loudmouth who remembers life before the world’s collapse, is so terrible you don’t mind when Virginia gives her some unwanted attention.
The further The Assessment veers into psychological thriller territory, the more it suggests a tantalizing question: What if all parents had to go through such an examination? We can all admit that not everyone is fit to be a parent. And the worst thing is when couples have a child in order to “save” a broken relationship. An assessment would put an end to that immediately, wouldn’t it? Then again, where’s the free will in all of that? There’s no right or wrong way to parent, is there? Everyone does it differently. Doing it the right way doesn’t necessarily mean the child will grow to be successful, or a good person. Doing it the wrong way can still produce a healthy, accomplished human being. A state-controlled assessor puts an end to any freedom that comes with parenting.
The Assessment forces you to consider a lot of questions. Perhaps too many, because a lot of the ideas introduced simply aren’t given enough time. It’s an ambitious movie and that is always to be respected, but there’s a version that still could’ve been better. That isn’t a knock on the performances, however. Olsen gets a lot of love for her unhinged Scarlet Witch for Marvel, and there are elements of that performance here in the way Mia is just barely holding it together and keeping a seemingly calm exterior. While I found Patel kind of grating, he’s overshadowed by the ladies, anyway. This is Vikander’s movie and she’s so great at capturing Virginia’s shifting personalities and motivations. It’s another nuanced performance from the Oscar winner that reminds us how great she is, and also had me wanting to see more of her. Vikander doesn’t do a lot of movies at the moment but I hope that changes. Honestly, the film labors when she isn’t dialed up to 11.
The haunting final act reveals the full scope of The Assessment‘s hopeless world, as well as the devastating emotional impact of living in it. It makes you wonder about the kind of person who would want to bring a child into it. Fortune’s impressively stylish and substantive debut doesn’t quite ace the test, but it passes with flying colors.
The Assessment is open in theaters now from Magnolia Pictures.
