The Assessment

Set within an unspecified future, The Assessment follows a married couple (Elizabeth Olsen’s Mia and Himesh Patel’s Aaryan) as they’re forced to prove their worthiness as potential parents to a demented examiner (Alicia Vikander’s Virginia). It’s an intriguing, workable premise that is, for the most part, employed to underwhelming and frequently interminable effect by Fleur Fortuné, as the first-time filmmaker, armed with a script by Mrs. & Mr. Thomas and John Donnelly, delivers a sluggish drama that’s focused on Virginia’s increasingly disruptive (and destructive) exploits – with the repetitive nature of these scenes ensuring that the picture’s midsection could hardly be less interesting (or more unwatchable). It’s all just so silly and pointless, and there’s little doubt that one can’t help but wish that Fortuné would get on with it already (ie we get the point, seriously) – with the inclusion of a single compelling sequence, involving a dinner party that goes awry, preventing the viewer from checking out entirely. And while the revelation-heavy third act finally does provide some much-needed context, The Assessment has long-since confirmed its place as a disastrous misfire that might’ve fared better had it topped out at 80 minutes.

*1/2 out of ****