They know everything.

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At the AV Club, A.A. Dowd writes, “There’s no inspirational upshot to The Assistant. It was hard to accept that the misconduct and coverups being recounted could have gone on for so long. Multiple scenes in "The Assistant" take place in elevators, and the elevator behavior alone warrants a dissertation! Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. We know that an earring on the floor isn't enough to bring down a bad man. Watch The Assistant now online If you've worked in an office—and I've worked in many—all of these small moments ring so true you almost cringe in recognition. Much of the film involves close-ups where we watch her think. The documentary also retained a distance from its subjects, allowing the facts to speak, rather than trying to coax a message out of the interviews. This approach works brilliantly, as it treats the viewer as intelligent enough to read between the lines and shout back at the screen with every micro-aggression thrown at Julia, even when she won’t let herself say anything. Sometimes we hear him barking on the phone at his overworked junior assistant, Jane, a college graduate who was hired just a few months ago. When they glisten, only for a moment, you know she’ll rein it back in a blink.

Jane does everything, for everyone; taking calls, booking cars, cleaning floors, stacking bottles, washing dishes. Her day gets busier from there. "The Assistant," a very good film, is especially good on power dynamics. (The lag time is no big surprise, since Weinstein’s close association with most of Hollywood left much of the movie industry reeling and uncertain about individual complicity in providing cover for the alleged predator for decades.). Probably. Memory House by Brazilian Director Joao Paulo Miranda Maria Wins the Roger Ebert Award at the 56th Chicago International Film Festival, High Powered: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson on Synchronic, Highlights from Ebert Symposium on Future of Movie Industry, Ebert Symposium 2020: Part 2 Streaming Today, October 22nd, 2020. Vox’s work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. When the work day begins, she’s subjected to an endless stream of similarly menial, demeaning tasks, struggles with the problems the two male assistants don’t want to deal with, and weathers streams of verbal abuse from her boss, which she’s always expected to follow with an apology for drawing his ire in the first place. Alone in the office, she tidies up, taking care of the trash, even wiping down the couch in her boss’ office. These monologues "catch us up." The Assistant is a movie about more than Harvey Weinstein. Jane has only been on the job for 5 weeks, and is fully acclimated (or indoctrinated) to the semi-terrifying office culture.

The most propulsive scene sees her come close to breaking, as she sits across the desk of HR manager Wilcock (Matthew Macfadyen, clearly cast off the back of his role as the seedy Tom Wambsgans from Succession, rather than his legacy as Mr Darcy). Amazon Prime Video. Jane (Julia Garner) arrives at work before the sun has even come up. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. For now, she is an assistant — and on one crucial day she slowly realises just how much shady behaviour is running through the higher ranks.Â, A stirring, sober examination of an ongoing injustice, The Assistant speaks to women whose discomfort is ignored, and bravely says that they matter, their feelings have been noticed. Lobbyists tried to ban labeling veggie burgers “veggie burgers.” The EU said no. He is referred to just as "he." "The Assistant" takes place during one very long day, when Jane comes to sense that something may be "off," with her boss for sure, but also in the company he created, and an environment that protects/ignores/denies what is really going on. The point, as The Assistant makes blindingly clear, is that the movie executive gets away with his behavior because of the people around him. Is chit-chat okay? It’s more like the story of why it took so long—how people averted their eyes because there was money to be made and too much risk in taking a stand. Sometimes we hear his voice, booming yet muffled behind his office door. Are we living in a computer simulation? Sign up here. The FDA approved remdesivir to treat Covid-19. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Initially, when she finds a stray earring in the boss’ office, or fields a tearful call from his wife, she doesn’t comment. newsletter. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. ... that's Power. The Assistant, starring Julia Garner, is now available to watch at home. Moment by moment, it pulls us into a world where predatory behavior is concealed behind closed doors, and the silence of a hushed workplace becomes its own kind of complicity. Green doesn’t need to embellish Jane’s experiences to get across how soul-crushing they are, especially as it becomes clear there’s no good outcome for her. The cinematography powerfully reinforces Jane's sense of isolation and powerlessness, while the cold, pale colour palette, fluorescent lighting and tight, stark shots lend the film a claustrophobic air.

The film is in part inspired by stories of Harvey Weinstein’s years of criminal behaviour with women in the film industry, ranging from harassment to rape. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that … But Weinstein and predators like him are inextricable from the power structure that enabled him, turning predatory sexual behavior into an everyday, mundane part of an industry, usually covered up and ignored. The true star of "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" is Borat’s daughter. If she does nothing, the cycle of abuse will continue. "The Assistant," a very good film, is especially good on power dynamics. One of the benefits of Amazon Prime membership is access to … Coming more than two years after The New York Times and The New Yorker first published their reports of sexual harassment and assault against the famed film producer, the headlines were a stark reminder of how long it can take for a wealthy and well-connected man to face the accusations against him in court — even after a stunning public downfall that helped give rise to the #MeToo movement. The almost clinical way in which events play out is a bold choice for Green, who makes her narrative feature debut with The Assistant after the documentaries Ukraine is Not a Brothel and Casting JonBenét. Another is being eyed as a candidate for an assistant job; as Jane learns, she's newly arrived from Idaho and is being put up by the boss at a fancy hotel in Manhattan. Everybody knows what’s happening. The film is tautly constructed, able to be shot largely in one place, and with minimal staging and effects. It's probably more accurate to say he is the atmosphere. hide caption. One Good Thing: Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit makes chess mesmerizing.

It's just a feeling, and everybody in the office shares it. Unlike Bombshell, which took a glossier look at the sexual-harassment allegations against Fox News’ Roger Ailes, The Assistant is played entirely straight. Her co-workers arrive, most of them youngish white men who regard her with indifference at best and contempt at worst. The expressive face of Julia Garner ("The Americans," "Ozark," "Dirty John") is central here. Although it's not clear exactly when it's taking place, Kitty Green's quietly devastating movie returns us to a time before #MeToo and its explosive revelations of sexual abuse rattled the world and the entertainment industry in particular. Please subscribe for more bad movie reviews, parody, and entertainment videos. 710067), Jane (Julia Garner) is a young graduate who has starting working at a film production company with the goal of ultimately becoming a producer. Kitty Green’s new film follows one harrowing day at a film production office.

The sky is dark and quiet both when Jane (Julia Garner) first walks into the office, and when she leaves.

The Assistant isn't about empowerment (that's a task for other filmmakers), but presents a cruel, unvarnished reality. She tolerates it all, because that’s what the job demands, and she sees keeping the job as her chance to move ahead in the film industry.

The Assistant covers some similar ground, albeit in a very different way. Emotionally? Green pulls off a similar feat with The Assistant, as Jane’s actions are neither supported nor condemned, and the film focuses on the broader structures in which abuse occurs, rather than on specific predators. For Christians-who of all people should seek to dismantle rather than perpetuate cultures of abuse-this is an important film to watch. With her spare, clinical, incriminating filmmaking style, writer-director Kitty Green clearly communicates that something is deeply amiss. But it's the rigorous understatement of The Assistant that makes it so powerful in its vision of how easily the Harvey Weinsteins of the world could exploit their absolute authority for years with little fear of consequence. “First one in, last one out, right?” she’s reminded. ... the taciturn drama poignantly expresses the miserable work environment that many people experience but haven't the courage to denounce. Jane works for a very important man that everyone knows, everyone wants to impress and everyone talks about. Green has directed two documentaries ("Ukraine Is Not a Brothel," "Casting JonBenet"), and used the form to interrogate objectivity, bringing a critical eye to the forming of certain narratives, playing around with the rules of the game in ways disturbing and fresh.

In "Bombshell," a shallow film about the downfall of Roger Ailes, Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) looks right at the camera, telling us how things operated at the network. The Assistant is Green's first narrative feature, but it feels of a piece with her earlier documentaries, Ukraine Is Not a Brothel and Casting JonBenet, both of which addressed the exploitation of women.

No one is sexually assaulted on camera, and the little tasks Jane completes add up to a larger, more troubling picture. What it’s about: It took two years for a truly great movie to come out about the Harvey Weinstein case, and The Assistant is it.