When allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Harvey Weinstein came to light in October 2017, they uncovered a huge scandal in Hollywood. The crimes of one of the most powerful producers in the industry kicked off a series of testimonies from people who suffered similar treatment, either from him or from other individuals who took advantage of their hierarchical superiority, which prompted the #MeToo movement, through which it was becoming clear that the roots of these problems were deeper than it seemed at first glance. Being a situation that developed within the world of cinema it was inevitable the emergence of films inspired by such events, but while some films will try to exploit the stories with a sensationalist approach, it is admirable that the first of these works, The Assistant, opts for a much more sober and measured perspective.
Australian director Kitty Green, who also wrote the screenplay, reflects in her work some of the elements that characterized the Weinstein case, but prefers not to limit the story with recognizable names or the narrative barriers of "based on real events". Rather than adapting specific situations, what he seeks to capture is a certain context, that is, that environment that allows this type of behavior. In fact, the focus of the film is not on the perpetrator, whose face we never see, nor on the victims, who appear fleetingly on the screen and whose experiences are not explicitly shown, but on a character more adjacent to these crimes.
That character is Jane (Julia Garner), a young woman who studied at a prestigious university and wants to become a film producer. One way to break into the film industry is to do some unskilled work, in her case that of an assistant, which requires her to arrive at the office before all her peers and be one of the last to leave. Jane works in a production company based in New York, where she has to take care of various demands from her boss, who, despite rarely being in his office, has a presence that can be felt in every corner of the building. The protagonist has only been in that position for five weeks, but she has been noticing some strange things within the company, such as her boss's meetings with attractive aspiring actresses, hotel reservations, missing female belongings and phone calls from his wife.
Despite her suspicions, there is little Jane can do, as her colleagues seem to carry on with an air of conformity, not questioning these signals and even treating them lightly, through jokes. The boss's behavior is an open secret, which directly or indirectly involves his workers, from the accountant who must authorize checks without a name, to the executives who from time to time have to cover for him in the office due to his habitual absences. Without concrete evidence, the transgressions of Jane's boss are submerged in the waters of uncertainty and there is little chance of anyone taking the necessary step to get out of the doubt, since that would imply a greater degree of commitment from his subordinates.
The film takes place over the course of a single day, in which the play makes us part of Jane's perspective, whether it is by acting out some of the menial tasks she has to perform, such as making photocopies and coordinating plane tickets, or by putting up with the constant put-downs she receives from the rest of the people. Although the protagonist is not a victim of her employer's sexual advances, her gender becomes something that conditions her place within the company; among the tasks assigned to her because she is a woman are taking care of two children, cleaning, buying lunches and explaining herself to her boss's wife. The young woman is on the lowest rung of this pyramid, a factor that, although it diminishes her influence within the company, also allows her to go unnoticed to observe what is happening around her.
Some of the ideas explored by the work are complemented through the visual aspect of the film. With the help of cinematographer Michael Latham, the film takes on a cool color palette, while the types of shots used shrink Jane within the environment in which she finds herself, with medium and wide shots predominating. On some occasions, the character is relegated to only a portion of the image, leaving the negative space to occupy most of the screen. Consistent with these stylistic choices, Julia Garner's performance also consists of dwarfing the protagonist, to highlight her helplessness in the face of the things happening around her.
The young woman is so diminished that even her words are determined by other people. When she has to write an apology email to her boss, her co-workers (Noah Robbins and Jon Orsini) dictate some phrases that are more convenient for what is expected of her. Meanwhile, in one of the film's best scenes, the protagonist goes to the company's human resources department to report the things she has seen, but the person in charge (Matthew Macfadyen) manipulates her until he convinces her that she will be the only one harmed. Moments like these show the influence the company has over individuals, and how difficult it is to go against the grain.
While a film like Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019) about the Roger Ailes case at Fox News spelled out all its elements, be it with expository dialogue and even breaking the fourth wall, Kitty Green's strategy is to rely on the intelligence of the viewers to pick up clues and innuendo. Her decision is a wise one, as the array of cues and subtleties lends an intriguing atmosphere to the work, without showing too much or underlining unnecessary issues. The story leads us to interpret gestures, tones of voice and silences, thus putting the pieces together and building our conclusions. The interest in The Assistant rests not only on what happens with Jane's boss, but also with her workers and the circle they are part of.
By focusing on the environment, on the setting, and not on the specific individuals who served as inspiration for the film, the director avoids the temptation to fall into simplistic solutions to the problems she shows. One of the things Green leads us to review is the protagonist's own role in all this, who is immobilized by the fear of risking her career in the industry for issues that are unlikely to be believed by the rest. The film seems to tell us that Harvey Weinstein's criminal conviction a few months ago does not mean the end of the abuses he committed, because of the need to take a closer look at the system that enabled those behaviors.
