The Assessment: reviews

What the critics say average 7.1 from 51 outlets

• 9.1 Detroit Metro TimesJared Rasic Alicia Vikander plays the assessor in what is not only her finest performance in a career filled with them, but easily one of the most multi-layered and dynamically written characters of the year Read
• 9.1 The ReaderRyan Syrek It is mostly an interrogative, asking less “what would you do” and more “what will you do?” Read
• 9.0 ColliderIsabella Soares Though powered by incredible performances and worldbuilding, what truly leads The Assessment to have an exceptional final product is its refreshingly original premise Read
• 9.0 NerdbotDerrick Murray The vibes are all the way on for me, and everything from its vibrant yet dulled color pallet, claustrophobic yet reclusive setting, immaculate but minimalist production design and unassailable cast all make “The Assessment” a stunning cinematic experience Read
• 9.0 The Movie WafflerEric Hillis Vikander delivers what might be a career best performance, creepy and sexy in the manner of the best unhinged female thriller villains Read
• 9.0 Alliance of Women Film JournalistsLiz Whittemore Fleur Fortuné masterfully creates universal scenarios that induce tension, and then she cranks up the volume Read
• 8.4 Mac the Movie GuyJohn Stark It had me, and in a time when so many things feel derivative and recycled, there’s something here that feels refreshingly original Read
• 8.3 IndiewireChristian Zilko Fortuné and screenwriters John Donnelly and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have crafted a compelling genre thriller that manages to build a world that feels both genuinely new and depressingly realistic if human society goes too far down the wrong path Read
• 8.3 Awards FocusMatthew Koss With a standout performance from Vikander and striking visual storytelling, it’s a film that demands to be seen Read
• 8.0 The GuardianPeter Bradshaw Opinions may divide about the extended coda that Fortuné gives her story but it is evidence that she is ambitious for something that eludes so many film-makers: an ending. It’s a stylish debut Read
• 8.0 Film ThreatAndy Howell Still, the film gets points for style, boldness, and an innovative science fiction setup Read
• 8.0 Women Write About ComicsLouis Skye The world-building won me over, and I would have loved more details. The set design was functional and intriguing. As a film viewing experience and a thought experiment, this film has it all Read
• 8.0 The CurbCodie Allen The true brilliance of The Assessment lies in its ability to juxtapose the personal and the political Read
• 8.0 The Straits TimesWhang Yee Ling French music video director Fleur Fortune has made a memorable movie debut. Her chilling parable on invasive state control is all too real at a time when, in the United States, autonomous reproductive rights are under threat anew Read
• 8.0 Common Sense MediaTara McNamara Given how often reproductive freedom is the subject of regulation and debate, The Assessment is clearly making a point by suggesting a future in which the government would ban pregnancy and childbirth Read
• 8.0 Film FeederJack Martin The Assessment is an intriguing dystopian thriller with exceptional world-building, even within the contained scenario of this narrative, and some eye-opening absurdism as fronted by a bravura turn by Alicia Vikander Read
• 8.0 The Mary SueIsobel Grieve Alicia Vikander does a remarkable job flipping back and forth between toddler and authority. She is an unsettling presence in the best way Read
• 8.0 CinemacyMorgan Rojas Filmmaker Fleur Fortuné crafts a darkly humorous and poignant thesis statement in The Assessment Read
• 7.5 Movie NationRoger Moore “The Assessment” is smart and sinister sci-fi of “The Handmaids Tale” school, a striking, minimalist parable about humanity’s failings in facing an inhumane future Read
• 7.5 Roger EbertChristy Lemire The first feature from the longtime music video director has a ton of style, and signals from the beginning her confident use of framing, texture and color Read
• 7.5 Film ThreatKent Hill But it is the show-stealing performance of Alicia Vikander that brings everything together Read
• 7.5 The InlanderChase Hutchinson Vikander, whose still astounding work in the modern sci-fi classic Ex Machina feels most relevant to some of what she is doing here, is a menace in the best possible sense with layers upon layers to her performance Read
• 7.5 Baltimore MagazineMax Weiss The Assessment is a provocative and sometimes squirm-inducingly funny sci-fi that gives its three leads lots of juicy material to chew on, with Vikander, in particular, turning her Virginia into a compellingly inscrutable, but not entirely unsympathetic, antagonist Read
• 7.0 VarietyStephen Saito Still, even when “The Assessment” goes beyond its smaller scale, it has a lot on its mind throughout and Fortuné ably balances the cerebral with the emotional Read
• 7.0 The Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz The ideas are there. Or at least mostly there. The performances are first-rate, particularly those of Vikander and Olsen, waging a war of wills Read
• 7.0 Culture MixCarla Hay “The Assessment” is an emotionally somber but visually stylish drama that shows a post-apocalyptic society where people have to pass a government evaluation test for approval to become parents. The principal cast members give memorable performances Read
• 7.0 Casey's Movie ManiaCasey Chong Kudos go to Vikander for her committed performance as an assessor, whose unpredictable, chameleon-like personality is no doubt one of her best roles to date Read
• 7.0 Sarah G Vincent ViewsSarah Vincent “The Assessment” is not entirely unpredictable, but it is absorbing for most of its runtime, and it is refreshing to have a dystopian tale that does not require a plethora of special effects Read
• 7.0 DeadlinePete Hammond Give props to Vikander for taking the risk on a role that is wacko-scary to pull off. She is such an accomplished and always interesting actor that you go with her on this journey Read
• 7.0 Film Review DailyJames Cameron-Wilson Olsen just gets better and better (cf. HBO’s Love & Death) and Vikander steals the show as an official who mutates from impostor to surrogate child to tyrant in a game that doesn’t feel like a game Read
• 7.0 mundoCinemundoCine 'The Assessment' is a provocative, risky feature debut from Fleur Fortuné, whose strength lies in the direction, the high level of its female leads and a visual approach that alternates realism with powerful dreamlike images Read
• 7.0 MicropsiaDiego Lerer Fortuné, who comes from music videos, builds a clean, ascetic, postmodern universe where those who can afford it live very comfortable lives, though stripped of much of what we consider natural today Read
• 7.0 MoviementariosFuranu It is a film that makes you uncomfortable, that oppresses you and that irritates you on purpose Read
• 6.7 The Film StageJared Mobarak And while the inevitable devolution of Mia and Aaryan’s union under the stress of this assessment and their respective truths hidden beneath their ideal of love is dramatic, it’s Virginia who steals the show Read
• 6.3 Slant MagazineWilliam Repass The Assessment works its way through intriguing conundrums about the motivations and qualifications of parenthood, as well as the power dynamics at play between parents and children Read
• 6.0 The Hollywood ReporterLovia Gyarkye At its best, The Assessment smartly taps into and maintains its focus on the near universal anxiety about parenting in a world made increasingly uninhabitable by overconsumption and climate change. But the film loses its way when it widens its scope and tries to incorporate eleventh-hour world-building Read
• 6.0 The WrapSteve Pond There are things to admire in the visual design and in the way a small group of accomplished actors submit to this quiet horror show, but cold, begrudging admiration is about all the admittedly stylish film is designed to elicit Read
• 6.0 Screen RantMae Abdulbaki The Assessment, directed by Fleur Fortuné, is conceptually sound and looks incredible, but while it’s psychologically involved and provoking, it doesn’t go beyond the surface of its ideas Read
• 6.0 New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis A sterile drama about state-controlled procreation, “The Assessment,” the first feature from the French director Fleur Fortuné, is visually stark and emotionally chilling Read
• 6.0 Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele And as with a lot of filmmakers transitioning to long-form narrative after success with bite-sized flash, “The Assessment” is a commanding mood piece until our thirst for deeper emotional and thematic resonance reveals its shortcomings Read
• 6.0 Financial TimesJonathan Romney Written by Mrs & Mr Thomas (aka Nell Garfath-Cox and Dave Thomas), the film starts from a sharply focused premise, before turning increasingly wayward; it ends up feeling like a Black Mirror episode extended long beyond its punchline. Read
• 6.0 Radio TimesSteve Morrissey If it had been 20 minutes shorter, the film would be a lot better, but this is still a cracking feature debut by director Fleur Fortune Read
• 6.0 JoBloAlex Maidy Fleur Fortune certainly has an eye and gives The Assessment a bleak, totalitarian feel that is oddly alluring and beautiful in its starkness Read
• 6.0 The UpcomingSelina Sondermann Vikander’s fearless abandon proves the powerhouse of the production. In particular, her scenes with Olsen are utterly intoxicating to watch Read
• 6.0 CinemagaviaPablo Veiga Carpintero 'The Assessment' has an evocative, relevant central idea, reproductive control as the last frontier of state surveillance, but its storytelling stops halfway between psychological thriller and social drama without going deep enough into either Read
• 6.0 MundiarioJuan Manuel Mazas In short, 'The Assessment' is a good psychological thriller, but it falls short of extraordinary Read
• 6.0 Libertad DigitalJuan Manuel González Although the premise runs out early and the film goes on too long, Fortuné does a good job of balancing the film's obvious black humour without turning it into a comedy Read
• 5.8 The PlaylistGregory Ellwood Sure, Vikander and Olsen are superb as Mia has to constantly stop herself from wringing Virginia’s neck, but the whole endeavor increasingly feels flat Read
• 5.0 Screen DailyTim Grierson The picture has been worked out on a visual level — the immaculately sterile images evoke a future in which life’s pleasures, like having a family, have been wiped clean — but the script never explores those deeper themes Read
• 4.0 The TelegraphTim Robey There’s a kernel of philosophical intrigue in The Assessment, encased in a sleek shell of dystopian science fiction, and unfortunately flung a million miles away from audience engagement Read
• 4.0 In Review OnlineTravis DeShong The Assessment doesn’t have the heft to fully maximize the potential of its premise, its entertaining eccentricities dulled by its disappointing shallowness Read