Elisabeth Olsen in The Assessment Is Ready To Enthrall In The Release Next Week

Dystopian films are on the rise and they tend to make an emotional connection with the audience as they compel them to think in distinct ways. There’s something heavy in these films that would shake you to the core, and you can never unsee them. 

Recent releases like The Electric State and the upcoming The Assessment compel us to observe the world and its problems as they encounter them. The intriguing build created by Elisabeth Olsen in The Assessment would also entice you to think about what the future is going to be like.   

The plot of The Assessment

According to Bloody Disgusting, The Assessment shows settings of not-so-distant future, and is characterized as a dystopian sci-fi thriller.

The dystopian nature is truly revealed when Mia (played by Elisabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (played by Himesh Patel) undergo a mysterious assessment to become eligible for the right to have a child. 

The selection process is quite cruel as they have to face their cold and unpredictable evaluator, Virginia (played by Alicia Vikander). The couple needs to prove themselves to the hard-to-please evaluator who moves into their house for the said purpose, for which they are subjected to a seven-day challenge of gruelling tasks.

The seven-day grill pushes them both to the edges as they have to face extreme psychological torment, leaving them to face their deepest insecurities. They are forced to rethink the foundations of their relationship and whether they could be good parents. Watch the trailer here:

The idea is unsettling itself- living in a world where the right to have a child is not yours. The decision is not in your hands anymore which shows the control of higher authorities in an ultra-modern society. 

The discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right of abortion goes parallel to the reproductive rights in such a world, which is almost a reflection of what is happening today. 

The film addresses the government’s folly of attempting to take control of a woman’s body with extremely limited resources while questioning the very existence of our own selves. Having kids and giving them a great future are the sole decisions of a parent, and that is what the film is all about. 

Poster reveal of The Assessment

An official poster of The Assessment has just been freshly revealed, where Alicia Vikander is seen scrutinizing the couple, Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel. 

The poster already shows an initial review by Variety after the initial premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2024.   

 

 

 

 

 

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Who is Fleur Fortune actually?

The Assessment is Fleur Fortune’s feature-length debut. She is a Paris-based director who, during her childhood, was told by the doctors that she had “medium” hearing problems, as per Deadline. 

She opened up in the interview that her parents used to think that Fortune had a world of her own. After being told by a physician that she had a weird disease where her hearing problem might be aggravated by pregnancy hormones, she spent several years herself trying for pregnancy via IVF.

It was exciting for her when she got to know that she was finally pregnant “during the prep for this film”. She was back on the set with her 18-month-old baby, which she confessed was an assessment of her own.

Stephen Woolley approached Fortune with the script of The Assessment during her struggling days of pregnancy. Fortune was already all over the internet, talking about the issue in her own video and also doing sci-fi stuff at that time, she revealed.

How was it working with Elisabeth Olsen in The Assessment along with Alicia Vikander?

Fleur Fortune unveiled that the film was an “emotional minefield” where parents had to undergo a brutal assessment just for the sake of being one. She wanted to put the actors at ease before they started filming for it, she told Deadline. 

Vikander was already scared, but she wanted to work on the script. The three ladies had a meeting at Fortune’s place, and Fortune said, 

“I remember, the three of us, that first time, we were all crying.”

How did the stars feel while working on the movie?

The three lead actors were totally in awe of what they had experienced and shared their experiences in one of the interviews with Variety. 

• Elisabeth Olsen told Variety that “making people feel uncomfortable is really gratifying”.
• Alicia Vikander said she had to be fearless after she stepped on the set. She had to let herself go to give such a strong performance, just like “a journey of discovering myself in different ages”.  
• Patel wasn’t hesitant in admitting that this was a ruthless truth that “it is what it is”. It was equally absurd, but the only focus was on “being truthful”.

Furthermore, the film’s shooting took place at far-flung places in Germany and Spain, which were quite remote from the general population, so the stars got the time to bond with each the more. There weren’t days when they had to get back to their families to take a weekend off from shooting and that is where they kept “gravitating towards one another”.  

They became comfortable with each other and this became the sole reason for coming up with such convincing performances. It meant that Fortune’s plan worked when she said she wanted to put them at ease. 

Female directors and their future in the industry

A serious and never-ending debate exists about female directors in the film industry. Not only is there little representation of female directors in the industry, but the pressure on these females to give their best in the first go is equally stressful. 

Fleur Fortune, however, didn’t seem to be bothered by this struggle since her struggle was on another level. Her wish to get pregnant, which was unfilled for four long years, gave her the inspiration to say yes to the film’s direction when the producer brought her the script, reported Roger-Ebert. 

Further, Fortune told that she took inspiration from Jane Campion as “she was ahead of everyone”. She had a special “female gaze” which was her strength in directing the films she gave to the industry. 

Magnolia Pictures acquired the rights of The Assessment for a US theatrical release on 21 March 2025. 

Genre: Sci-fi, mystery, thriller, drama

Cast: Elisabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel, Minnie Driver, Indira Verma

Producer: Stephen Woolley

Writers: John Donnelly, Nell Garfath Cox, and Dave Thomas (aka Mrs. and Mr. Thomas)

Director: Fleur Fortune

Release date: March 21, 2025

Movie runtime:  1 hour 54 minutes  

Are you excited for Fortune’s directorial debut as a sci-fi dystopian thriller? Let us know in comments.