
In “The Assessment”, Aaryan (Himesh Patel) made use of an animal tactile simulation and since then he has dedicated a lot of his time to building skin that is not easy to touch, to him the touch is painful. Sometimes it becomes overly artificial and other times the flesh is overly taut but he definitely is on the cusp of discovering something. Now, the rebellious dark humor that the film is centered on targets the works of Fleur Fortuné, and does get the neurotic candy coating more than just the plain respect it deserves. In all honesty, the film, which was first screened during the Toronto International Festival, is so different from the rest that it would have been better not to be able to define the genre.
Definitely, removing the dystopian aspect would give Fortuné less of an incentive to showcase herself as a designer and to exploit the stunning production design of Jan Houllevigue and the cutting-edge music of Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, which explains why the world constructed in the film suggests that it is essential for many to embellish their design with custom made particulars. However, Mrs. & Mr. Thomas aka Nell Garfath Cox & Dave Thomas along with John Donnelly propose a nice idea in the screenplay which makes that somewhat almost ridiculous funny. Because, you relate with Aaryan and Mia played by Elizabeth Olsen who have faced an interview to apply for adoption, without using any form of commentatorial artistry during the film. Thus when Virginia who is played by Alicia Vikander appears before the door of the beach house belonging to the Tatums, Mia is left with no other choice than to ask what she hopes to achieve from potential parents, it is rather puzzling why this is considered professional reticence.
In this part of the film, we’re exposed to the painful journey Aaryan and Mia endure in the hope of getting noticed by a third party. The couple is located in a highly remote part of the world that is split into 3 parts of the world they live in that can now decrease the harsh climate, ‘the old world,’ and the one where ‘population control’ is instituted. However, the assessment that talks about the expository world in which the movie takes place is best warned against being overexposed. Aaryan’s darkroom is conceivably the only inappropriate place in the world they inhabit. Virginia, for example, is obliged to live at their home for a week in order to learn something more than just strange facts about them. The other sci-fi detail Why was Virginia dumped? We were also told that she played the part of an abundant baby that already lived at their home.
Vikander plays the role of troublesome Virginia perfectly, capturing all the quirks and idiosyncrasies that she did not bother with during her filming with Lisa Langseth in Hotell and Euphoria in 2017. Olson and Patel also shine as paranoid scientists who at least can take care of a child but wouldn’t be able to handle this experiment for a week. The phrase ‘The Assessment’ is the only phrase in the movie that can actually work because contrary to the title, it is entertaining and more than that, it is skillfully balanced every day giving a glimpse of something new to Mia and Aaryan’s comradery, such as tantrums from Virginia’s 5-year-old self, trying to form a Bucky Ball structure that brings PTSD from every IKEA purchase, and trying to host a dinner for the people they never wanted in the first place. The only problem arises when it is clear that ‘The Assessment’ has an overarching theme that was touched only once and is to be revisited at the end.
Although the actors engaged in the film understood how the story would play out, the ending lags a bit behind as it never enhances the central concepts introduced earlier. In spite of this, even in scenes where “The Assessment” overreaches, its conceptual trend is vastly coherent, as is seen in how Fortuné blends the theoretical with the aesthetic in his work. And yes, the film depicts a society that is cut off from the essence of mankind, however, it possesses a certain softness in it which leaves you speechless.
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