The Assistant
Starring Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Kirstine Froseth, Makenzie Leigh
Directed by Kitty Green
Ever since the Harvey Weinstein scandal finally was brought to light, the importance and power of the #MeToo movement has revolutionized the entertainment industry and allowed the once-forgotten and silent female voice to finally be heard, recognized, and valued. While "The Assistant" isn't a direct film about the scandal, you can clearly infer its source material in every frame, as we witness in parallel both a mundane day in the life of an embattled assistant as well as the guttural, desperate cry to be heard in a world that's still all-too-male dominated and controlled.
Jane (Julia Garner) is an assistant to a powerful film producer in New York City, and we witness one ordinary day in her life. She goes through the typical assistant jobs: ordering lunch, making reservations, handling travel arrangements, greeting visitors, and the like - all the while working under the heavy thumb of her unseen and unnamed boss. As the day progresses she begins to think that her boss is harboring an illicit secret, but has no direct proof of it - and as she tries to piece everything together, she finds herself on the receiving end of criticism, misogyny, and unfair retaliation just because of her gender.
Written and directed by Kitty Green, "The Assistant" isn't your typical Hollywood film, even in the world of the dramatic. While most people go to see a movie to escape reality, Green sheds light on the unfair reality of countless female assistants in America to their male bosses in ways that are deeply engrossing as well as ordinary and typical. The film is shot with a central focus on Jane, and doesn't deviate from the character for any second of film: we see what's happening through her eyes, hear what's happening through her ears, and feel the abuse through her feelings without getting the eagle-eye view of everything going on around her, so oftentimes we're as at a loss as she is: this isn't a spoon-fed film where we're given all the information, but have to try to piece it together from small evidences that Jane finds in order to draw a possible conclusion even when there's nothing concrete. An earring on the floor, a five-star hotel for incoming female assistants, an angry wife on the phone - nothing points exactly to an affair, but it's obvious something is amiss in this world.
The film has clear parallels to Miramax and Weinstein in the fact that Green interviewed several people at the production company after the scandal, and you can clearly sense the tension and overall gloom in the film. The company itself isn't a swanky, penthouse-style building, but rather an almost run-down building with gloomy, colorless walls and dim lighting that makes you wonder why anyone would choose to work for the company or think that it will lead them on the fast track to getting what they ultimately want. As Jane tries to investigate the goings-on, she learns that everyone else is already in the know of what's happening, and choose to turn a blind eye to its darker side for the sake of money. While he's never seen (or even mentioned by name), Jane's boss holds a collective dark cloud over everything going on, and is the source of the misogyny that Jane experiences.
Julia Garner gives a tour-de-force performance as Jane, whose name itself implies a simplicity and plainness (ever hear the name Plain Jane?) that pulls you into her world and you really feel for her. She's the first one into the office and the last one out, always performing the roles that none of the men would even touch including getting lunch for everyone (and being berated by a fellow assistant for getting a turkey sandwich when he asked for chicken), watching the boss's children when his nanny comes to visit, taking young attractive women to the hotel, and greeting visitors and fellow producers who don't give her the light of day. Through it all Jane holds a mostly strong facade, even though you sense cracks imploding as the boss berates her on the phone for not lying to his wife, or for making a claim against his morality, forcing her to write apologies to him in order to keep her job, which is aided by her fellow assistants telling her what to say. You wonder why anyone in their right mind would want a job like that, and then you begin to realize that maybe you are working in a job like that - and it makes it all the more real.
While it doesn't glamorize anything, "The Assistant" does provide some very thought-provoking and downright unnerving scenes. Whenever she's leading visitors on the elevator, they don't even acknowledge her existence and rudely get off the elevator before she does. Then there's the crashing denouement of the film where she interacts with a male Human Resources director about her possible findings, and the results will leave your jaw on the floor as you wonder how the heck this could happen in today's world, and feel even worse knowing that it still does. Even though the #MeToo movement has started, "The Assistant" proves there's a much longer road we need to take in order to gain true equality for women in the work force.
Aided by a awards-demanding performance by Julia Garner, "The Assistant" is as mundane as they come, but also gives a deep introspection on the misogyny that millions of women face in the workforce quietly, providing a well-thought-out dramatic piece that'll stick with you despite its pure simplicity.
The Score: A+
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