Film Review: THE ASSESSMENT: A Flawed but Fascinating Debut From Fleur Fortuné [London 2024]

The Assessment Review

The Assessment (2024) Film Review from the 68th Annual London Film Festival, a movie directed by Fleur Fortuné, written by Dave Thomas, Nell Garfath-Cox and John Donnelly and starring Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel, Minnie Driver, Indira Varma, Charlotte Ritchie, Nicholas Pinnock, Leah Harvey and Anaya Thorley.

In her feature length debut, Fleur Fortuné offers us an odd, disquieting and intriguing science-fiction film. Set in a world ruined by climate change, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) must undergo a gruelling, invasive assessment that will prove their suitability as parents, carried out by the ominous Virginia, played chillingly by Alicia Vikander. Sharp and tense, there is much merit to be found in The Assessment, but it ultimately ends up confused and wanting, the fruitfulness of its best ideas merely touched upon in the film’s closing moments.

It begins with that fantastic hook, the audience eager to see this assessment of such high stakes play out for our endearing couple. Olsen and Patel are a convincing couple, easy to follow and root for, setting the stage for a tense and thrilling conflict. And thrilling it is, as they are forced to endure twisted and invasive tasks at Virginia’s behest, from being watched in the bedroom to intensely committed child role-play; all facets must be carefully studied. It is wonderfully frustrating to see unfold, their every move under intense scrutiny. It felt as though the film was highlighting the impossibility of parenthood, or rather the impossibility of perfect parenthood, the unattainable standards to be perfect for our children. Olsen eloquently evokes pathos and pity as their chances grow more and more dire as the film advances…

The Assessment works wonderfully in this microcosm, the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world and the way it operates serving merely as a base for tone and concept, discreetly provoking enough for the audience to question the state and situation of the world on their own. The film compromises itself however, when it moves from the micro into the macro, where it doesn’t fully indulge in the same level of depth the micro is afforded. It vaguely and loosely tries to expand and explore societal issues of their futuristic world in the film’s closing moments. It feels disconnected in a sense, not as polished or refined as it could be. There isn’t a seamless intertwining of the micro and macro, and instead the film never hits the landing. It also in two instances seeks to explain rather than show, in two passionate expository scenes that sadly falter in their obviousness.

It would have served the film better to remain fully focused on its micro, exploring the intimate suffering of the couple in their gruelling assessment, culminating into a tragic ordeal that fully explored the unreachable standards society expects of us. Instead, the film gives us a clunky ending that offers the possibilities of something interesting that it can never detail further.

Formally it is competent, at times even stylish. The minimalism in the set design suits this futuristic setting eloquently, while giving the film a sharp and cold edge that complements its oddity and tension. It is thoughtful if not entirely impressive, with Fleur Fortuné displaying a keenly firm and decisive hand for a feature film debut. She is entirely certain of the project and its execution, even if it is as a whole unpolished.

With a promising concept, solid performances and a tense unravelling, The Assessment is altogether a solid film, an intriguing and odd science-fiction film that is successful when close to its characters. Unfortunately the film isn’t wholly realised, and in an attempt to start explaining its acceptably vague setting, it only does so in an expository and clunky manner. It feels like the first chapter to something more interesting, introducing ideas that will never be fully explored and sadly leaving the film with an awkward, abrupt ending. An interesting debut from Fleur Fortuné nonetheless.

Rating: 6/10

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