Direction: Kitty Green
Country: USA
Kitty Green’s rigorously observant The Assistant depicts a long, exhausting work day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a fresh college graduate and producer-wannabe working as a junior assistant for a wealthy film production company in New York.
Perspicacious, she soon figures out the sordid schemes that occur in a male-dominated office; she identifies the predators and the preys, the indifferent and the ambitious, as well as the frequent sarcasm and passivity in the face of the abusive behavior of a leader, whose face we never see. We have the sense that he hides in the shadows, yet still spreading gloominess around.
Despite strong and able, Julia is about to break down with embarrassment and disappointment, and the taciturn drama poignantly expresses the miserable work environment that many people experience but haven’t the courage to denounce.
