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The Assistant (R) ★★★ ½

By March 1, 2020March 19th, 2020Backstage Pass

 

The genre is drama and follows a day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer. She has landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment tycoon.

We see her mundane chores of making coffee, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages. However, we also see the abuse of the situation as she’s the first one into work, entering a darkened office and the last one to leave. We view the blatant misuse of a new inexperienced young hire and Jane’s scolding when she asks questions.

Director and writer Kitty Green creates a powerful film that highlights the toxic atmosphere of a work environment; in many ways, it plays like a horror movie. The dark shadows, the deep angry voice of the predator on the other end of the phone.

Here’s what’s intriguing, we never see the main tyrant boss, which is a good thing as the film easily crosses over into other workplaces.

Sarah Knight Adamson© March 1, 2020