Thought provoking observations on THE ASSISTANT (Kitty Green, 2019) from students on my NYU Summer Course about the recent rise of women-centric film and television. The film is part of a growing number of tv shows and movies that form something of a post #metoo cycle.
It proves instructive to watch the movie alongside the British Channel 4 documentary WORKING WITH WEINSTEIN. The doc includes interviews with Weinstein’s former assistants. Several of these employees’ stories illuminate moments in this film, and vice versa.
Technically a tight, well-made movie, the film lends itself to close readings like this one here.
CONTAINS SPOLIERS:
In class I screened the below two clips to illustrate the process by which the titular assistant, Jane (Julia Garner), is coached in an office language of submissiveness and complicity that facilitates the boss’s continued abusive and sexually predatory behavior.
A hostile male coworker sets Jane up by fielding her a call from the boss’s furious wife. Jane unsuccessfully attempts to pacify the wife, who angrily hangs up. A key cut follows: The film cuts abruptly from a head-on mid-shot of Jane to this disorientating low angle shot; this cut when compounded with the startling phone ring, and terrified look on Jane’s face creates a moment of horror. At times the film borrows conventions from the horror movie genre. For example, we never fully see the boss in THE ASSISTANT just as classic horror movies hold back and create suspense by refraining from fully revealing the monster. Alternatively, one might consider that by never presenting the boss the film prohibits any form of sympathy for him, or “himpathy.” For further discussion on monsters and himpathy in media representations of abusers see Dr. Karen Boyle’s blogpost Of Monsters and Bombshells As the boss directs a diatribe of insults and expletives towards Jane the camera cuts to the above close-up connoting Jane’s interiority, and inviting the viewer to connect with her. Register Jane’s pale sweater and complexion which make her almost disappear into the background of some shots, underscoring her insignificance in the office, and invisibility to many of the company’s employees. The film cuts to Jane’s computer screen as she immediately begins to craft an apology email to the boss. The automatic manner by which she moves to do this suggests she’s been coached to respond in this way. The office to the executive is organized into a hierarchal tier of first, second, and third assistants. The first assistant who generally gives off an air of inure, now dictates over Jane’s shoulder the appropriate language and phrases Jane should include in her apology email to the boss.The scene described above parallels with a later scene in the movie. Following Jane’s visit to Human Resources, she receives another abusive phone call from her employer. Jane visited HR with the intention of trying to prevent the boss from sexually abusing a recently hired, young attractive employee. However, Jane takes the decision not to escalate the complaint for the sake of her own career. The boss over the phone now delivers another tirade, and then hangs up on Jane. This time though both of Jane’s coworkers – the first and second assistant- now help her write the apology email. Since Jane has revealed herself to be complicit with the way the office operates the two assistants have accepted her. Jane is now one of them.The film cuts once again to the assistant’s computer screen that displays the submissive language of her email.In a powerful moment, as the two other assistants flank Jane to dictate the email, Jane begins first to mouth, and then to speak aloud the subservient words in unison with them. In chorus they speak the submissive and complicit language of the office’s employees. This moment also recalls a horror movie – not one of monsters, but of assimilation such as Valley of the Dolls, The Stepford Wives, and more recently Midsommar. Perhaps though the most horrifying aspect of THE ASSISTANT is how many people have expressed finding its depiction of office culture so relatable.
THE ASSISTANT is currently streaming on Hulu.
Comments Off on “Not My Place to Question…” Learning the Language of Subservience and Complicity in THE ASSISTANT
