A couple of years ago, the movie A GHOST STORY, which was pretty slow-paced anyway, had a lengthy scene in which we basically watched a grieving Rooney Mara sit on her kitchen floor and eat an entire pie. It took her several minutes, and we were left to watch her going through a well of emotions while eating this pie...all in one long shot. It was both amazing and a bit maddening. Movies don't do that!
THE ASSISTANT feels like it's doing this for its entire run time! I'm sure I've sat through slower movies, but I can't remember when. If you aren't interested in watching mostly the internal life of one low level executive assistant at a movie production company go through just one work day, doing mostly mundane tasks...stay away. Basically we see this young lady arrive at work before anyone else, do dull things like start the coffee, take phone calls and low level "joking" comments from folks just very slightly higher on the chain than her, and have her day enlivened by random calls from the "boss" (no doubt meant to be a stand-in for Harvey Weinstein...although we never see this man) who yells at her and demeans her. Sometimes she gets to run chores outside the office, including escorting a new young prospect to a hotel where she is clearly going to have an assignation with the aforementioned boss. There are other events that occur, but in short, the movie tries to immerse us in an office environment that is very male-heavy, and clearly has lots of things going on that would send most HR departments screaming into the night, but are tolerated because they are committed by the iron-fisted, terrifying boss who is powerful and can control careers with a phone call. We see the slow grinding down of this assistant...she's not a direct victim of abuse, but never has a movie done a better job of showing how a work CULTURE can impact everyone. We see this quiet young lady and the burden her knowledge and conditions have created.
There is a scene just past the midpoint where she finally has had enough and goes to HR to complain. That scene, with the seemingly sympathetic but ultimately slimy HR person (Matthew MacFayden...hard to believe this guy once played Mr. Darcy!), is remarkably powerful. It's really the first scene that isn't primarily just our experience with the assistant, which I'm sure makes it more impactful...but this 5 minutes makes the movie as a whole worthwhile. It demonstrates the dangers of "speaking up" and the insidiousness of a culture where even those who are supposed to protect the employees have been twisted to do just the opposite.
In the end, what makes this movie bearable is the fact that the amazing Julia Garner (OZARK) is the star. Her character in Ozark is loud, brash, foul-mouthed and not afraid of much. Here, she's quiet and cowed. All her emotion is kept beneath the surface, but it's a true pleasure to watch how much Garner can convey by doing almost nothing. Watching her eat a sandwich at the deli, with scarcely a change of expression, she somehow renders powerful and resonant. This movie required a particularly committed and intelligent performance, and Garner really delivers.
It's a tough movie, even so, and although I consider myself a very patient movie-goer, I still was tempted to shout "Please let something happen!!!". But I think it's an important film and it's approach to its subject is both infuriating and very brave. I think it's certainly worth a look...even just to see Garner in action.
THE ASSISTANT feels like it's doing this for its entire run time! I'm sure I've sat through slower movies, but I can't remember when. If you aren't interested in watching mostly the internal life of one low level executive assistant at a movie production company go through just one work day, doing mostly mundane tasks...stay away. Basically we see this young lady arrive at work before anyone else, do dull things like start the coffee, take phone calls and low level "joking" comments from folks just very slightly higher on the chain than her, and have her day enlivened by random calls from the "boss" (no doubt meant to be a stand-in for Harvey Weinstein...although we never see this man) who yells at her and demeans her. Sometimes she gets to run chores outside the office, including escorting a new young prospect to a hotel where she is clearly going to have an assignation with the aforementioned boss. There are other events that occur, but in short, the movie tries to immerse us in an office environment that is very male-heavy, and clearly has lots of things going on that would send most HR departments screaming into the night, but are tolerated because they are committed by the iron-fisted, terrifying boss who is powerful and can control careers with a phone call. We see the slow grinding down of this assistant...she's not a direct victim of abuse, but never has a movie done a better job of showing how a work CULTURE can impact everyone. We see this quiet young lady and the burden her knowledge and conditions have created.
There is a scene just past the midpoint where she finally has had enough and goes to HR to complain. That scene, with the seemingly sympathetic but ultimately slimy HR person (Matthew MacFayden...hard to believe this guy once played Mr. Darcy!), is remarkably powerful. It's really the first scene that isn't primarily just our experience with the assistant, which I'm sure makes it more impactful...but this 5 minutes makes the movie as a whole worthwhile. It demonstrates the dangers of "speaking up" and the insidiousness of a culture where even those who are supposed to protect the employees have been twisted to do just the opposite.
In the end, what makes this movie bearable is the fact that the amazing Julia Garner (OZARK) is the star. Her character in Ozark is loud, brash, foul-mouthed and not afraid of much. Here, she's quiet and cowed. All her emotion is kept beneath the surface, but it's a true pleasure to watch how much Garner can convey by doing almost nothing. Watching her eat a sandwich at the deli, with scarcely a change of expression, she somehow renders powerful and resonant. This movie required a particularly committed and intelligent performance, and Garner really delivers.
It's a tough movie, even so, and although I consider myself a very patient movie-goer, I still was tempted to shout "Please let something happen!!!". But I think it's an important film and it's approach to its subject is both infuriating and very brave. I think it's certainly worth a look...even just to see Garner in action.