In a future world destroyed by climate change, the government maintains a strict control of resources. To ensure the world doesn’t become overpopulated, it decides who can and can’t have children. A film by Fleur Fortuné, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel, Indira Varma, Nicholas Pinnock, Charlotte Ritchie, Leah Harvey, and Minnie Driver.

In a ravaged future where resources have dwindled to scarcity, humanity exists in two worlds. The government maintains tight control over the surviving population through harsh regulations, all in the name of ensuring our continued existence. Those who defy these laws face exile to the Old World, a wasteland of toxic air and contamination where survival is nearly impossible.

Botanist Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and her husband, programming genius Aaryan (Himesh Patel), live in relative comfort within a secluded protective dome. They believe they’ve created the perfect environment for raising a child and have submitted their application for Assessment. If approved, the government will grant them the rare privilege of having a child through an artificial womb, as natural births have long been forbidden.

The government-appointed assessor Virginia (Alicia Vikander) arrives at their home to inform them that they are in the top 0.1 percentile of citizens and qualified for in-person Assessment. She explains, they’ll face intense observation and formal testing to determine if they’re truly fit to become parents, over the next seven days. If they pass, their genetic material will be sent for ex-utero gestation to produce their child.

In the event of a fail, candidates will be notified immediately. Virginia reminds them they can withdraw from the Assessment at any point until the in-person questionnaire. After that, they forfeit all rights to future applications. Her decision, she emphasizes, will be final. With practiced reassurance, she adds that everything that happens during these seven days will remain strictly confidential.

When Mia voices her unease about the assessment process, questioning how they could possibly prove themselves suitable parents without knowing what criteria Virginia will use to judge them. Virginia dismisses her concerns. She insists that the less they know the better. This approach allows her to assess their genuine selves rather than calculated personas built to meet known expectations.

Over the next week, Virginia becomes an ever-present shadow in their home, watching their every move. Nothing remains private, not meals, conversations, or even their most intimate moments. As days pass, Mia and Aaryan find themselves pushed through increasingly strange and demanding exercises that stretch them to their breaking points, challenging them physically and mentally in ways they never anticipated.

Directed by French filmmaker Fleur Fortuné in her directorial debut, THE ASSESSMENT unfolds from a screenplay by Dave Thomas, Nell Garfath-Cox, and John Donnelly. This sci-fi thriller takes place in a future where the government maintains strict control over both population and dwindling natural resources.

With the Assessment process spanning seven days, the film occasionally feels slow and somewhat tedious across its 110-minute runtime. The narrative burns slowly, with the first half offering little in the way of intrigue. The exception comes through Virginia’s unsettling behavior as she periodically embodies the role of a child, creating moments that are genuinely unnerving.

Initially, I suspected Virginia might be a government-controlled android capable of switching between modes (Alicia Vikander previously portrayed a humanoid robot in Alex Garland’s 2014 film EX_MACHINA). However, the final act reveals her secret that she’s simply human, albeit with complex motivations.

The twisted ending feels rewarding for its slow burn build up, showing just how far humans would go to achieve what they want. Some give in and continue living within government-dictated rules, some break down under the pressure, and others choose to break free entirely. I love how the film leaves the ending ambiguous, allowing room for interpretation about what the Old World truly looks like.

THE ASSESSMENT premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2024. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 21 March 2025.