The Assistant Movie Review
The Assistant had been catching buzz for a few months before it hit streaming platforms. I had heard whispers about how intense it was, and was intrigued. I’m a huge fan of Julia Garner (if you haven’t seen Grandma, please watch it and bless your eyeballs) so I was doubly intrigued. Writer and director Kitty Green didn’t disappoint as she crafted an insanely subtle but exquisite study of power and abuses of that power.
Jane (Julia Garner), an aspiring producer, is an assistant for some type of film executive. We follow her for one full day, watching as she navigates her workplace, which oscillates between being mundane and hostile. She performs many duties that are typical of assistants, ordering lunch, arranging travel, answering phones etc. Throughout her day we are privy to several outbursts from her boss (all delivered via phone calls) that involve a plethora of threats and curse words.
Tiny offenses add up over the course of a day. I’ll leave you to discover what each of those offenses are on your own. When Jane tries to do the “right” thing and file a complaint with HR, she is met with laughter and scorn. It made my blood boil when Jane admits her dream is to be a producer and the HR rep audibly snickers. Even thinking about it just now, my stomach is clenching.
The film is only one hour and twenty-seven minutes but it felt much longer — in a good way. Kitty Green magically makes one hour and twenty-seven minutes seem like a full work day. By the end of the movie I was exhausted, not just from the normal work day, but from what was happening behind the closed door that Jane sits beside.
This movie is slow-paced, but that’s why it works so well. The subtlety is done so precisely you might miss the offenses entirely unless you’re really paying attention. But that’s the point isn’t it? Abuse of power is often so well protected and shrouded that you just might miss it. Unless you’re a young girl who must witness it every day. Be prepared to be crushed by Garner’s performance. It’s a master class in minute facial expressions that showcase the disappointment that the world operates this way and that she must be a part of it. The Assistant is a master class in the art of subtlety.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You enjoy subtlety
2. You are enraged by the #MeToo movement – namely Harvey Weinstein
3. You like slow paced movies without a lot of action