The Assistant (2019)

A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.

Director:

Kitty Green

Writer:

Kitty Green

Stars:

Julia Garner, Owen Holland, Jon Orsini

3 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Garner	...	Jane
Owen Holland	...	Driver
Jon Orsini	...	Male Assistant 2
Rory Kulz	...	Executive 3
Migs Govea	...	Executive 1
Daoud Heidami	...	Executive 2
Ben Maters	...	Executive 4
Noah Robbins	...	Male Assistant 1
Tony Torn	...	Boss
Dagmara Dominczyk	...	Ellen
Alexander Chaplin	...	Max
Bregje Heinen	...	Tatiana
Devon Caraway	...	Non-Fiction Executive 1
Genny Lis Padilla	...	Non-Fiction Executive 2
Clara Wong	...	Tess

Storyline

Follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer, who has recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant's - making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | receptionist | title directed by female | female pffice assistant | one day timespan | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in eighteen days.

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Goofs

According to a White House invitation seen on screen, the month of December begins on a Wednesday. However, the laser-printed calendar page taped on the cabinet door behind Jane's desk only has 30 days. Since it's cold and snowing outside in New York City, the day being shown in the film has to be a day in November. However, the laser-printed calendar shows the 1st on a Wednesday. It is impossible for November and December to begin on the same day. Alternatively, if the day in the film is in December, they forgot to print a 31-day calendar.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies of 2020 (So Far) (2020)

User Reviews

The most cinematic and well shot boring movie I've seen

From a film making point of view this is fantastic. There's an eerie undertone throughout somehow making mundane daily activities look sinister. And there's an extensive use of center-framed God's-eye view shots that were stunning. But the pacing of this movie drags terribly because nothing on screen is engaging content-wise. I almost fell asleep in the middle and when I made it to the end, I was shocked that it was only 85 minutes. It was completely mismarketed as a thriller, the trailer even contained a quote using the word thriller but it is definitely not. The only thrilling thing I felt during this movie was when the credits rolled so I could leave the theater. But the ending left me confused about what I was supposed to take away. I feel like this movie is trying to say something about the toxic working environment that this women endures, but it totally falls short and comes across as empty.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 2020 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Assistant

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$79,141, 2 February 2020

Gross USA:

$1,100,313

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,338,881

Company Credits

Production Co:

3311 Productions, Bellmer Pictures, Cinereach

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color