Issues of workplace discrimination and abuses of power by powerful media moguls won’t only be covered by Bombshell, but by a host of other films in the coming months. The Assistant will cover much of the same territory and draws inspiration from the downfall of Harvey Weinstein, once among the most powerful men in Hollywood until allegations of sexual abuse and rape surfaced, helping to give rise to the #MeToo movement.
Written and directed by Kitty Green, The Assistant features the always-terrific Julia Garner (Ozark, Grandma) in the lead role, playing a young woman with dreams of becoming a movie producer. Her goals seem to be on track when she lands a job as a movie mogul’s assistant, only to face harassment and abuse at every turn. The film also stars Matthew Macfadyen, Makenzie Leigh, and Kristine Froseth.
SYNOPSIS: Follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer, who has recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant’s – making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered.
The Assistant opens on January 31st 2020.
