PROVOKR PICK: THE ASSISTANT
A Me Too Thriller Starring Julia Garner
How many women (and men) have a me too tale to tell? Chances are, most women have one. Even in 2020, women face sexual harassment and assault on a regular basis. It is a depressing, shared experience that bonds many of us. And, what about when that harassment happens at work? In 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker published bombshell reports about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s decades of using his power to assault and rape young actresses. It shook Hollywood and left us all wondering how he got away with it for years. Who knew and did nothing to stop it? Who enabled him? Writer/director Kitty Green’s new movie, The Assistant, grapples with these questions through a fictional lens.
In The Assistant, Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate, lands a job as a film executive’s assistant. The movie follows a day in her life as she goes about her daily routine. She performs the tasks an assistant often does: getting coffee, making phone calls, scheduling meetings, discreetly removing a pair of earrings left on the floor of her boss’ office. Jane senses there is a darkness lurking. Eventually, Jane decides to take a stand against her bully-boss.
The Assistant will strike a chord with the female workforce. Many women have dealt with that male colleague or boss who says that unwanted comments or more are just jokes or that boys will be boys. Or the co-worker who, after complimenting your clothes or body, tells you not to be so sensitive. He perpetually toes the line between being too friendly and being something more sinister. For some of us, he crosses that line. We may be uncomfortable, but we laugh because we don’t want to make a scene or head to HR. Then, we bond with friends over our shared traumas during night time drinks. And we try to move on. But it stays with us, coloring how we approach or trust others and we become cynical. Like Jane, it’s time for us to say enough is enough.
See The Assistant in theaters January 31, 2020.
