There’s no shortage of films depicting bleak, dystopian futures right now. Even those meant to make light of matters at hand, like M3GAN 2.0, are that much grimmer in their message of just giving in to the cold, dead eyes of AI. There was a time when these types of films felt like distant warnings, predictions that could still be prevented. These days, most feel like they’re right around the corner, and that has made this particular genre more unnerving than ever.
While it may seem masochistic to some to indulge in the dreariness, there’s a therapeutic relief in the way these types of films allow us to deal with issues head-on and process them in a safe space. Perhaps that’s why we always see a spike in the popularity of certain movies during moments of distress (such as Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion being brought back into the discussion during 2020), and why recently released The Assessment is the #4 film on Hulu’s charts.
What’s The Assessment about? Per Hulu:
In a not-so-distant future where parenthood is strictly controlled, a couple’s mysterious seven-day assessment for the right to have a child unravels into a nightmare, forcing them to question the very foundations of society.
I’m honestly stunned that this is director Fleur Fortune’s debut feature. With a background in music videos, the filmmaker brings a confident direction to this somber dystopia, filled with rich imagery that searches for beauty in a desolate world. Yet, for as well-directed as it is, it’s the top-notch cast that lends The Assessment to an above-average grade.
The Scarlet Witch herself, Elizabeth Olsen, offers up a complex portrayal of a woman navigating the difficulty of motherhood, while married to a tech-inventor (Himesh Patel) who perhaps doesn’t understand the wonder of life as well as he thinks he does. And then there’s Alicia Vikander, no stranger to the genre after having played Ava in Ex Machina. Every moment she’s on screen is one of suffocating tension, as we never quite know what trouble she will cause next in her test of these hopeful parents-to-be.
The Assessment may reaffirm thoughts of “oh hell no” to the idea of having kids—that was my wife and I’s reaction—but beneath the friction is a meaningful story about reconnecting to reality at a time where so much out there feels like a fabrication.
If you do decide to take The Assessment on Hulu, give me your thoughts on Bluesky @werematt.
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