--- title: "The Assistant: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-assistant/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-assistant" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 25 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Assistant (2020): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 25 reviews: 18 positive, 6 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics are firmly on the film’s side. The praise gathers in two places. The first is Julia Garner, whose performance as Jane is repeatedly described as restrained and physically eloquent, carrying fear, ambition and heartbreak with almost no dialogue. The second is Kitty Green’s method: the boss is never shown, and the case against him and the office that protects him is built from mundane detail, long silences and small acts of collusion. The reservations attach to that same restraint. A minority find the pace slow, the protagonist thinly drawn and the ending unresolved. The spread is wide, from a cluster of top marks to one outright dismissal, and the harshest notices come from the festival premiere. Variety finds the film too generic to grip, The Hollywood Reporter calls it dry, and Collider thinks it arrives too late to say anything new. Slant admires the craft but argues the unseen mogul becomes lurid and mythologised. ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Rating 5/5. 1 May 2020. O’Sullivan sees the film as a sharp, wide-reaching indictment of sexual bullies and the workplaces that enable them. She especially praises Julia Garner’s performance for conveying Jane’s ambition alongside her constrained, vulnerable position. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-assistant-review-a-wide-scoped-skewering-of-sexual-bullies-a4429246.html) ## The Independent — Clarisse Loughrey Rating 5/5. 30 April 2020. Loughrey calls the film a devastating, unvarnished portrait of complicity and powerlessness. She praises Julia Garner’s nuanced performance, which conveys Jane’s fear and heartbreak without needing much dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-assistant-review-kitty-green-harvey-weinstein-metoo-director-cast-a9489591.html) ## Time Out — Tomris Laffly Rating 5/5. 22 January 2020. The review presents the film as a harrowing, sharply observed account of abuse protected by power. It praises the film’s probing depiction of the predator’s fearful, cowed surroundings. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-assistant) ## Vulture — Alison Willmore Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2020. Willmore calls the film a spare, searing account of abuse and complicity, praising its focus on the workplace structures that enable predation. She also singles out the film’s detached observation of Jane as especially effective. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/the-assistant-review-the-first-great-me-too-movie.html) ## The Guardian — Mark Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2020. Kermode calls the drama impressively chilling and powerful in its understated portrayal of workplace abuse. He praises Julia Garner’s physically eloquent performance and Kitty Green’s decision to keep the predatory boss unseen. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/03/the-assistant-review-julia-garner-kitty-green-me-too-office-drama-weinstein) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Rating B+. 2 September 2019. Festival review. Kohn finds the film a fascinating, haunting illustration of workplace oppression, though its slow pace and unresolved ending weaken Jane’s story. He particularly praises Julia Garner’s finely detailed performance and the film’s meticulous portrayal of the toxic office atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-assistant-review-julia-garner-harvey-weinstein-1202170446/) ## Empire — Ella Kemp Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 April 2020. Kemp finds the film a stirring, sophisticated examination of an ongoing injustice. She particularly praises Julia Garner’s controlled, emotionally powerful performance and the film’s use of silence. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-assistant/) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/4/4. 28 April 2020. Strong finds the film powerful and essential viewing for anyone working within a power structure. She praises its austere approach and Julia Garner’s quietly compelling portrayal of Jane’s isolation. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-assistant) ## The i Paper — Joseph Walsh Rating ★★★★. 26 February 2020. Festival review. Walsh finds the film timely and terrifying in its depiction of workplace misogyny. He especially praises its chilling portrayal of how everyday acts of collusion keep that culture unchecked. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-assistant-review-berlin-film-festival-harvey-weinstein-drama-terrifying-workplace-sexism-402112) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2020. Brody finds the film emotionally devastating and conceptually powerful, presenting it as a chilling study of complicity and coercion. He praises its accumulation of mundane office details that reveal how Jane is conditioned to ignore what she sees. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-chilling-power-of-the-assistant) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2020. Turan finds the film an arresting, restrained drama about workplace abuse. He praises its minimalist, documentary-influenced style for making the office’s culture of psychological abuse feel credible. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-30/assistant-review-julia-garner) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Rating 3/4. 24 February 2020. Bowen finds the film aesthetically and tonally immaculate, but ultimately too narrow and too comfortable with its thesis. He praises its precise compositions and perceptive details while criticizing its unseen mogul for becoming lurid and mythologized. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-assistant-review-julia-garner-kitty-green/) ## Screen Daily — Tim Grierson Fi1m's normalised score 67/100 (inferred from the text). 12 February 2020. The visible text presents Green’s film as a restrained drama about abuse of power. It singles out the Hollywood mogul’s production office as the setting for that examination. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-assistant-review/5146717.article) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page content is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the text shown. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-assistant-movie-review-2020) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The supplied page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no praise or complaint to identify. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/movies/the-assistant-review.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2019. Festival review. McCarthy finds the film intermittently effective and insightful, though its restrained approach ultimately feels dry and its protagonist remains underdeveloped. He praises its sustained tension and exacting evocation of a particular moment in film-industry history. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/assistant-review-1235973/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2019. Festival review. Debruge finds the film too restrained and generic to engage deeply with its subject. He praises Julia Garner’s exquisitely subtle performance, while faulting the film for lacking specificity and dramatic momentum. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-assistant-review-1203320485/) ## Polygon — Karen Han Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 April 2020. Han calls the film extraordinary, praising its clear-eyed portrayal of an abusive workplace without sensationalizing events. She singles out Green’s subtle focus on the everyday structures and bystanders that enable abuse. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/hulu/2020/4/29/21241083/the-assistant-review-kitty-green-julia-garner-harvey-weinstein-streaming-amazon/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 2020. Nayman calls the film extraordinary and one of the year's best American films. He especially praises Julia Garner's nuanced performance and the film's bleak, carefully constructed workplace world. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2020/04/28/movies/the-assistant-movie-review-weinstein-julia-garner) ## Digital Spy — Gabriella Geisinger Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 2020. The critic finds the film compelling and engaging without becoming heavy-handed. She praises how its small, mundane moments build tension and reveal an oppressive system. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a32285030/the-assistant-movie-review-watch-online/) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film compelling, powerful and important. They praise its minutely observed office details for making its portrayal of workplace abuse feel recognizable and unsettling. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-assistant-review/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 2020. Wilkinson finds the film an incisive and absorbing portrait of how toxic masculinity shapes a workplace. She praises its close attention to the details of Jane’s day and Julia Garner’s expressive, restrained performance. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-assistant-2019-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2020. Festival review. The critic finds the film patient-testing but ultimately sneakily impactful and devastating. They single out Julia Garner’s subtle performance, especially in Jane’s anxious visit to Human Resources. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-assistant-film-review-julia-garner-metoo/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no praise or complaint to report. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-assistant-telluride-review-20190902/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating C+. 24 January 2020. Festival review. Goldberg finds the film inert and too late to add fresh insights to the conversation. He praises Green’s precise direction and the restrained performance that immerse viewers in the office’s cold, casually cruel culture. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-assistant-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-assistant.md