L'évaluation

The 3 leads are pretty good in their roles but story just didn't gel together for me. Very little is known of the dystopia, the cause, the effect the hope. The entire focus is really on the assessment of the couple's readiness for raising a child. A few sprinkles of insight into their work life doesn't do much to round out their characters. Virginia the assessor of the couple is quite erratic and throws every cliche of bad childish behavior to test the couple. This was mildly interesting but it grew tiresome.

I didn't expect the story to continue where I had thought it should have ended. Just delivered more dialogue that no longer mattered to me as I had already mentally checked out. I think the premise and the awkward start of the movie could have been a rating of 7. By 1/2 way through the movie lost its mojo and slid down to a 5.

Watch it if you like the lead actors but the story might grind on you.

Alicia Vikander was already part of a dystopian Sci-Fi drama once (Ex Machina). Now she gets a totally different part in a film that feels like another "Black Mirror" episode and a good one also, nevertheless. From a first gaze of the movie's poster, I wasn't so sure, but when it had ended...so good.

The future, if to be franc and honest, is already here. Dystopian content is almost not any news and more and more films about dark future are rolling in our doorstep. This one is another that speaks about class differences, with a different direction and point of view.

Both Mia and Arian are well educated couple, that contributes to the well-being of the society. Both want to have a child, but the reality which they are living in does not allow reproduction. The government forbids children without supervision which validates that both candidates are suitable to raise children.

The supervision if from an assessor, which lives full week with the couple and determines at its end whether they are capable or not. Meanwhile, the rest of civilization are living in a wasteland and are being treated differently. This part is just mentioned in words and being seen for a very short period of time from the movie, towards the end of it.

The execution of the film was brilliant, and the performances were just outstanding. The plot had several holes and subjects that weren't properly delt, but the final outcome was a movie about parenting experience, fears, anxieties and the complications with being parents in some different magnitude.

This movie was also about the race we are falling behind in - real world against Artificial intelligence. It got its fair share of different type of anxieties, towards a future that is really unclear, but well predicted by a lot of artists in the movies industry.

Elizabeth Olsen's performance was magnetizing. She ruled this movie with so much depth. Himesh Patel was great also, but both female characters were the main issue here. Finally, the biggest performance of all - Alicia Vikander. Wow. I can't stress enough how good she was and was worth watching just for her side of the plot and her performances' weight in the movie.

The movie ended kind of sloppy for me, at least, but it was worth each and every minute of my time and I cannot understand why it got such a low grade. Maybe for being a little bit misunderstood. Maybe the ones who didn't understand it need a re-watch.

It often feels like we're constantly being assessed, evaluated on everything from our creditworthiness to our work performance to our scholastic achievements. But imagine what it might be like if we were scrutinized on highly personal matters, with intrusive investigations into our most highly intimate concerns. Such is life in director Fleur Fortune's debut feature in a dystopian version of Earth of the future. With the planet devastated by environmental decline, human society has been drastically reorganized into the old world and the new world. The former is a pathetic wasteland where individuals struggle to live out short lives under horrific conditions. The latter, meanwhile, is a sanctuary for the fortunate, with clean air, clean water and a comfortable way of life, but there's a trade-off: Residents must abide by litany of stringent laws, rules and regulations in which they're under constant assessment, including in matters of their so-called private lives, where the risk of being reassigned to the old world looms for even the smallest of violations. This intensive surveillance involves essentially everything, including such basic considerations as the ability to have children, a strictly regulated undertaking for which would-be parents are rigorously evaluated by government-appointed assessors on their qualifications to assume this role. So it is for Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel), a couple looking to become one of the privileged, who are placed under the microscope by their evaluator, Virginia (Alicia Vikander). The assessor takes up residence with the couple for a week to scrutinize their suitability, engaging in rounds of intensive questioning, role playing exercises and other unannounced tests to see if they meet the requisite standards. But are they up to it? The process pushes the limits of the couple's coping abilities, exposes long-hidden secrets and pushes the envelope of their tolerance levels for their circumstances, all in the name (supposedly) of determining whether they would make acceptable parents. And, as the evaluation unfolds, it raises questions about whether the assessment is truly everything it appears to be. This inventive social sci-fi offering raises an array of probing, thoughtful questions, both for the characters, as well as audience members, particularly where matters of personal privacy and societal judgmentalism are concerned. The narrative is purposely designed to keep viewers guessing, placing them squarely in the shoes of the protagonists and nudging them to ask themselves what would they do under conditions like these. It's an approach that generally keeps us hooked as the story plays out, despite some occasional lapses in pacing and a few sequences in which the action feels a little over the top (especially in the role playing segments). But the payoff is ultimately worth it, one that makes us question whether the constant evaluations to which we're subjected in today's society are everything they're allegedly cracked up to be. This German production with dialogue in English is an intriguing examination of what we allow ourselves to be put through to see if we measure up to expectations that ultimately aren't necessarily our own, particularly in matters that fundamentally aren't anyone else's business. Think about that the next time you feel you're being unduly judged, a consideration that's taken on new weight in today's day and age - and that this cautionary tale might be giving us a preview of what could possibly lie ahead.

Given the rating that was 6.9 at the time, I expected much better than I received. In short, You're told that the world has split into two. One where the air is purified somehow and the old which was soiled. Almost nothing is told about this process and the film tries to stick to just one issue. People are limited to having no children unless given permission. An assessor will come to the house to determine whether a child may be produced. In comes Alicia vikander.

She then proceeds to act like a child for much of the rest of the movie. At times it is incredibly silly and not believable. The actors do a fantastic job in selling the concept, but but she goes in and out of character at times that you don't know which version she is and the characters are understandably confused. Some of the reactions of the adults supposedly treating a child are understandable because they aren't dealing with a child. The test is inherently itself, not fair but you're asked to go along with it. But there was one absolutely ridiculous test, in which the answer is blatantly obvious to everyone but the tested person. Perhaps they thought it was a good idea on paper but it was executed so painfully that it was difficult to watch. There are also many holes in this script.

Minnie driver steals the show in the one scene that she appears. But in the end, which is rushed badly, you get to find out some answers which is standard dystopia. I didn't find redeeming qualities about this film whatsoever. The moral of the story is raising children can be a difficult experience. And the rest of the science fiction element is completely unexplored. It's only there to create cool effects and provide a reason for the assessment.

I completely admire the fine performances by the actors. But this bit of silliness is 2 hours of time. I really wish I had back. If you're a fan of frilly artistic portrayal with lots of diversity as part of our future, you might appreciate this. But it is completely superficial.

I liked this movie a lot.

It resembles the work of Alex Garland, and the premise is pretty much a possible scenario in the not-so-distant future.

But is it worth watching? Well, it depends.

It has a good story, talented actors, and beautiful photography, as well as great design.

Buuuut without any spoilers there's not much explanation of the time they live in.

The starting point was already built off-screen, so to say.

Anyway, its focus is on the dynamics between the trio, and it's more of a psychological/existential thriller.

Though maybe the third act makes the movie too long, I would have liked it to ended earlier, but my criteria are to like cliffhangers and open ends... Not a popular parameter

I recommend it!