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[tab title="Movie Review"]
I’ll say this about The Assistant: it’ll probably make you appreciate your own boss. That person is almost guaranteed to be better than the nameless tyrant dominating The Assistant. The movie depicts one long and ordinary day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a twentysomething wannabe film producer. She fills an entry level position working for a movie mogul, similar to Harvey Weinstein. Lots of scenes just show Jane going about her boring daily business: ordering lunches, making copies and receiving faxes, planning on the phone and even keeping an eye on kids who were dropped off at the office. Jane is unappreciated and verbally abused for the slightest mistakes. Stressed out, she approaches Human Resources with some valid complaints. But her talk with the company representative Wilcock (Matthew Macfadyen) doesn’t go as planned. Although he starts out sympathetic, by the end it’s clear the old boys’ network is very much in place. The scene where he gaslights her is painful to watch.
Everything in The Assistant comes across as believable and realistic, which is why it’s ultimately so depressing. Watching the story unfold, It’s easy to see how someone in power could get away with the crimes committed by people like Harvey Weinstein. Others around him get used to covering up, looking the other way, turning actions into jokes and excusing behaviors. As this drags on, power goes unchecked and vulnerable people get hurt.
The movie reminded me of the story of a frog in a pot of hot water. The water heats up so gradually that the frog doesn’t notice and stays put, until the water starts to boil. Every day Jane is in a toxic environment, but it reaches dangerous levels in such small increments that she just stays and endures it. We the viewers can only watch, as the surrounding atmosphere grows increasingly misogynistic and hostile.
Spoiler alert: by the film’s end, Jane doesn’t resolve any problems with her abusive boss. She has tried reporting him to no avail. So at the end of her long day she’s still in the same predicament, which again adds to the story’s believability. You should check out The Assistant if you want to understand situations like hers that are all too common. But don’t expect to come away cheered up in any way. Keep in mind that it reflects a sad, bitter reality and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. In that sense, it’s worth a watch.
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[tab title="DVD Review"]
DVD Details:
Home Video Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Available on Blu-ray - April 28, 2020
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles:
Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Discs: DVD Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Supplements:
- None
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[tab title="Film Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 87 mins
Director: Kitty Green
Writer: Kitty Green
Cast: Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Makenzie Leigh
Genre: Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Official Site: https://www.thehustle.movie/
Release Date: January 31, 2020
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 20, 2019.
Synopsis: In the hilarious new comedy THE HUSTLE, Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson star as female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, who team up to take down the dirty rotten men who have wronged them.
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[tab title="Art"]
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