Review: The Assistant
Kitty Green’s feature film directing debut is a promising glimpse into what the future may hold for a storyteller with an impressive talent for creating an atmospheric, hard-hitting film in The Assistant. Working with a talent like Julia Garner definitely worked in Green’s favor, but her creative decisions with minimal fanfare and budget speak to her budding career.
Green tackled a timely story with The Assistant. In a movie studio office where a nameless, faceless executive reigns supreme, we’re invited into a day in the life of the assistant (Julia Garner). The atmosphere is tense and as more is revealed, downright abusive. Garner plays the titular character and embodies everything all at once - the fear, confusion, and sense of helplessness under the regime of a self-important abuser.
The film drags at points and might rely too heavily on the “show don’t tell” principle, but in a world where even the most innocuous abuses are excused and glossed over, it’s an indicting piece of filmmaking that puts us squarely in the middle of a work environment that has become way too common and needs to be confronted.