Sumith Prasad
The filming of the science-fiction film ‘The Assessment’ is set to begin in Summer 2023. The thriller is set in a world destroyed by climate change. Part of society has created a parallel world for itself. Life is controlled and optimized, and the desire to have children is also not left to chance. The lives of a successful young couple are therefore put under close scrutiny by a female assessor over the course of seven days. Although the movie is an international co-production, the involvement of American artists can be affected due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
Cologne, a West German city known for High Gothic architecture, serves as the principal location of the film. The city is a significant location of popular films such as Chris Hemsworth-starrer ‘Rush,’ Kate Winslet-starrer ‘The Reader,’ ‘Amélie,’ Robert Pattinson-starrer ‘High Life,’ Tom Hiddleston-starrer ‘Only Lovers Left Alive,’ Adam Driver-starrer ‘Annette,’ Lars von Trier’s ‘Nymphomaniac: Vol. I,’ etc.
Fleur Fortuné is at the helm of the film. Fortuné previously directed the music videos of Travis Scott’s “Birds in the Trap,” The Avalanches’ “Frankie Sinatra,” Drake’s “Energy,” Skrillex’s “Doompy Poomp,” M83’s “Wait,” Movement’s “Ivory,” Lykke Li’s “Gunshot,” etc.
Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen headline the cast of the movie. Their characters, however, are under wraps. The recent credits of Vikander, who won an Academy Award for her performance as Gerda Wegener in ‘The Danish Girl,’ include Mira Harberg/Musidora in ‘Irma Vep,’ Catherine Parr in ‘Firebrand,’ April Hanson in ‘Beckett,’ Essel/The Lady in ‘The Green Knight,’ Kathy LeBlanc in ‘Blue Bayou,’ etc.
“It’s a pretty wild part. Even the producer says, like, ‘What are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know yet.’ Which gives you a little insight,” Vikander told Variety about her unrevealed character. “[The film] has the sci-fi aspect in that it’s set in the close future and obviously it can bend certain rules. But when it comes down to it, it has some thriller aspects to it that I love in the genre. But it’s also quite an existential drama, with very human emotions,” the actress added.
Olsen, on the other hand, joined the cast of the film after portraying Candy Montgomery in ‘Love & Death,’ Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch in ‘WandaVision,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ Zooey Kern in ‘Kodachrome,’ Jane Banner in ‘Wind River,’ etc. Vikander has high praises for her co-star. “[…] Lizzy Olsen, I think she’s really a terrific actress,” the actress said in the same Variety interview.
The sci-fi thriller is penned by Neil Garfath-Cox, Dave Thomas, and John Donnelly. Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen of Number 9 Films (‘Colette,’ ‘Carol,’ ‘On Chesil Beach,’ and ‘Youth’) produce the film, in association with Cologne-based Augenschein and London-based Film4.
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