“The Assistant,” a film arriving at a relevant moment concerning workplace power dynamics, really affected me and left me feeling upset. This quietly impactful story about a young assistant (Julia Garner) working for a well-known entertainment executive draws inspiration from the Me Too movement—specifically, the problematic actions of Harvey Weinstein. The narrative does a good job of showing how heavy the emotional burden can be when you sense something is wrong but feel unable to take action. Jane (Garner) is just beginning her career. She works long hours at a New York office belonging to a powerful film executive, and she experiences ongoing verbal and emotional mistreatment from her boss—who remains unseen throughout the movie. There's nothing glamorous or rewarding about her job, but those around her constantly remind her that she’s fortunate simply for having it. Jane is confronted with rude and degrading remarks from nearly everyone she interacts with, yet she quietly continues her work and tries to ignore what's happening. Writer/director Kitty Green chose to focus her deliberate, structured story on a female assistant, which makes the film even more powerful. She employs shots that put you in the position of being right there in the office, essentially stepping into the character’s shoes. The events unfold over one day within a dull office setting as Jane starts to notice patterns that don't quite make sense. She doesn’t have enough information to fully understand what is happening, but she still senses that something isn’t right. It’s disturbing and effective—something many young women (and some young men) will unfortunately connect with. When Jane attempts to do what feels correct, she encounters resistance within a Hollywood culture where abuse is accepted, joked about, and concealed – essentially normalized. She observes her coworkers making jokes about these incidents while dismissing her worries. An unhelpful HR director (Matthew Macfadyen, who’s excellent) brushes off her complaints as “bullshit” and attributes them to “jealousy,” which is frustrating to witness because it feels so realistic. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that despite increased awareness thanks to the “Me Too” movement, this kind of misconduct continues in offices across the globe. A word of caution to those working in the entertainment industry (and beyond): if you remain silent or laugh at or downplay bad behavior, you’re contributing to the problem. "The Assistant" serves as a stark reminder that just because something is considered “the way things are” doesn't mean it’s acceptable.

Source on TMDB