The Assistants

The Assistants is an eye opening look into the wheels and cogs of the movie making business, and a deep dive into the nature of power and success.

It terrified me.

The plot centers around a group of film grads who have the dream of making it big together in Hollywood. Three years later, they are all there, working in Hollywood ...as assistants.

When I sat down to watch the film, I expected a riotous comedy of mishaps and skullduggery, instead I got something much more interesting. The film jumps straight into exploring the idea that those who are at the top are only there because they are being held there, with the true strength of power lying in the arms of those doing the holding. Once the assistants come to this realisation, they begin flexing their muscles and a roller coaster of moral highs and lows begins.

Friendship and creative integrity are pitched against financial success and we watch as the characters grapple to hold one without losing the other. Lines are crossed and true natures are tested. As an audience, we are given plenty of opportunities to ask ourselves, "what would I do"? Thankfully, the film avoids bowing to moral platitudes and delivers a complex story of both cynicism and hope.

A great watch.