The Assistant

USA, 2019; 87'

Cast: Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Makenzie Leigh, Kristine Froseth, Jon Orsini, Noah Robbins, Alexander Chaplin, Jay O. Sanders , Juliana Canfield, Dagmara Dominczyk.
Festivals, awards (selection): Berlinale 2020, Heartland 2020 (Truly Moving Picture Award)

The story of a young assistant witnessing the questionable conduct of her influential boss was inspired by Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse cases that had triggered the #MeToo movement.

Another day at the office. Jane, the new assistant to a powerful media mogul, is the first to arrive and the last to leave. She does her job, endures her colleagues’ hostility and applies herself to her pile of tasks with painstaking precision: printing out schedules, arranging travel, ordering lunch and tidying up her boss’s office. Without him even once putting in an appearance, his existence is nonetheless all-pervasive. We hear him on the other end of the phone reprimanding Jane; we also witness the array of attractive young women who are paying a visit to the company at his behest. Jane’s suspicions and discomfort spin out of control as it becomes clear that she is part of an abusive system.