The Assistant

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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Welcome to the world of #MeToo … Harvey Weinstein getting sentenced on the 6 o’clock news … Charlize Theron transformed into Meghan Kelly for the movie “Bombshell” … Julia Garner starring in “The Assistant.”

“The Assistant” can be seen at Tropic Cinema this week.

A minimalist feature film written, directed, produced, and edited by Kitty Green, we get a “day in the life” view of an assistant to an entertainment mogul. Think: Harvey Weinstein.

Spanning one day’s time, we follow Jane (Julia Garner) as she arrives at work, so early it’s still dark outside. The office is located in New York’s hip Soho district. She sets about making coffee, lining up water bottles, Xeroxing, binding scripts, tidying up the boss’s office, even scrubbing the couch (a bit of foreshadowing or a backward glance?)

You could almost call her Plain Jane, for she has obviously made an effort to downplay her looks, hair pulled back primly, dressed in an unremarkable outfit. Most of the men in the office disregard her, an unseen presence, as they hustle about their duties.

Throughout the day Jane juggles schedules, knowing that the boss (unseen throughout the film) is flying to LA that night. She finds time to return a gold bracelet left in the office by a pretty Asian woman. Handles calls from the boss’s wife. Juggles a meeting between the boss and a newly hired young blonde. Keeps her head down.

Other than a trip to the HR department. A pivotal meeting, as Jane hardens to the reality that the unctuous personnel director’s job is to protect the company, not its employees.

This tedium of a day at the office may sound like a monotonous plot, and perhaps it is, but Kitty Green is a master at building tension, allowing Jane’s character to move through the day while seething at a slow boil.

No, this is not a dramatic action film with lots of bang-bang boom-boom. It’s simply a snapshot capturing the office environment of a sexual predator.

An experienced documentarian, Australian-born Kitty Green’s previous films have prepared her well for the serious nature of this film. “Ukraine Is Not a Brothel” and “Casting JonBenet” both dealt with controversial topics rooted in sexual exploitation.

As one moviegoer summed it up: “This is an insightful, if after-the-fact look at long-tolerated behavior. It’s a reminder of how things were until very, very recently.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com