The Assessment

The 3 leads are pretty good in their roles but story just didn't gel together for me. Very little is known of the dystopia, the cause, the effect the hope. The entire focus is really on the assessment of the couple's readiness for raising a child. A few sprinkles of insight into their work life doesn't do much to round out their characters. Virginia the assessor of the couple is quite erratic and throws every cliche of bad childish behavior to test the couple. This was mildly interesting but it grew tiresome.

I didn't expect the story to continue where I had thought it should have ended. Just delivered more dialogue that no longer mattered to me as I had already mentally checked out. I think the premise and the awkward start of the movie could have been a rating of 7. By 1/2 way through the movie lost its mojo and slid down to a 5.

Watch it if you like the lead actors but the story might grind on you.

I was skeptical about watching this movie. I've been on a movie-marathon this summer & this is one of the movies you wouldn't want to miss!

Elizabeth Olsen surprises me every time. I believe she's one of the few actresses who can actually give an astounding performance in almost any genre.

Alicia Vikander, we've missed you. As I was watching 'The assessment', I couldn't help but remember 'Ex machina' where Alicia also starred in and had a similar genre.

I wanted more from this movie. I wanted more tragedy. More twists. More turmoil. This movie did indeed end shockingly. Hoping for a sequel!

I had heard nothing about this movie except for seeing it on a list of recommended recent sci-fi movies and then seeing the great ratings. I would say it's more "sci-fi ish"; at it's core though it is a fantastic dystopian psychological thriller. All 3 main actors are doing a phenomenal job here (I wish we'd see Alicia Vikander in more stuff!) and it kept me engaged from beginning to end, even the scenes that are less easy to watch. I absolutely recommend it!

The Assessment is a Sci-fi drama Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel as Mia and Aaryan, a couple who want a child in the future are given a 7 day test by an assessor,(Alicia Viklander) who make the test possible and if no slip ups occur a baby will be gifted, but the expected-to-be parents see that this is harder than they expected.

Given strength by strong acting and unique premise, The Assessment is something I didn't really expect plot-wise but I think it was made brilliantly. The film is set in a format of Days 1-7 and each one is as different and engaging as the other. Honestly I was expecting this to reuse sci-fi tropes from the past, but I got to say that this is so original and unexpected I think it was done super well! The way everything connects and what the couple have to do is portrayed so well to the point that this might be what the most likely cause of creating children will be in a effected world of climate change.

Performances do not disappoint, Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel were so good they probably could've been on their own with a entirely different plotline and it would have been just as captivating. But Alicia Viklander is also very good and to be honest, she's very good at the whole sci-fi genre and to see her here was a delight. Just everyone involved did their best and I really appreciate that with a film that doesn't really rely on CGI to be as creative as it is.

However, the film is graphic in some places in terms of sex and disturbing interactions from Alica Viklander's character acting like a child in a older woman's body gave me Poor Things vibes. But that doesn't matter really and it's essential to the plot but this is definitely for an older audience and I can definitely imagine this being an easy R or 15/18 in the UK if anyone is interested.

Overall, while some characters don't have much resolved plotlines the ones that do are created and performed so well it's hard to find anything bad about The Assessment. Definitely a one you must go and see when it comes out in mid 2025 I would highly recommend this amazing and creative piece of art when it hits cinemas.

Grade: A+

London Film Festival October 19th.

Given the rating that was 6.9 at the time, I expected much better than I received. In short, You're told that the world has split into two. One where the air is purified somehow and the old which was soiled. Almost nothing is told about this process and the film tries to stick to just one issue. People are limited to having no children unless given permission. An assessor will come to the house to determine whether a child may be produced. In comes Alicia vikander.

She then proceeds to act like a child for much of the rest of the movie. At times it is incredibly silly and not believable. The actors do a fantastic job in selling the concept, but but she goes in and out of character at times that you don't know which version she is and the characters are understandably confused. Some of the reactions of the adults supposedly treating a child are understandable because they aren't dealing with a child. The test is inherently itself, not fair but you're asked to go along with it. But there was one absolutely ridiculous test, in which the answer is blatantly obvious to everyone but the tested person. Perhaps they thought it was a good idea on paper but it was executed so painfully that it was difficult to watch. There are also many holes in this script.

Minnie driver steals the show in the one scene that she appears. But in the end, which is rushed badly, you get to find out some answers which is standard dystopia. I didn't find redeeming qualities about this film whatsoever. The moral of the story is raising children can be a difficult experience. And the rest of the science fiction element is completely unexplored. It's only there to create cool effects and provide a reason for the assessment.

I completely admire the fine performances by the actors. But this bit of silliness is 2 hours of time. I really wish I had back. If you're a fan of frilly artistic portrayal with lots of diversity as part of our future, you might appreciate this. But it is completely superficial.