The Assistant

The days go by, routine tasks, some like any other.

The assistant's (Julia Garner as Jane) glad to be working in the film industry but unaccustomed to what her fellows take for granted.

The days are long and peeps are on edge and even though it's never explicitly stated, hierarchy pervades each and every interaction.

Tensions suddenly lighten.

To whitewash something creepy.

Rats racing panopticon hashtag hydra disenchantment.

Will you be the one?

Can you appease the indignity?

It can't be like this in every environment but the Weinstein trial and the Me Too Movement bluntly state otherwise.

It's like Jane's motionless in a labyrinth and only the beast can facilitate movement, but it's so repellent that immobility's preferable inasmuch as it securely gestates.

You need to be focused upon to get anywhere but there's well-being if you're casually overlooked, as if the prize can't compensate for the anxiety unless you embrace ethical oblivion.

It seemed fascinating from the viewpoint of my youth to enter a working world wherein which there was professional respect for different cultures and genders, and I've worked in environments where this was the case (still do) and thoroughly enjoyed resultant routines.

I'm on my own (relatively) now which is amazing for travel and variety, but sometimes I miss seeing other people at work every day and the ways in which those stock conversations made me feel like part of a team.

You see Jane's quotidian confines slowly driving her nuts in The Assistant though, and I don't envy her position, how could it ever be appealing if you're on edge all the time?, with the prospect of stardom still a million to one shot?

There's peace of mind in bourgeois politesse.

The Assistant isn't the greatest film although its realism is frank and sincere. It pulls you into a harrowing reality where not much happens unfortunately. In reflecting upon the film I realize that it does a great job of making you feel Jane's struggles, living and breathing her shocks and fears as well as her courage and headstrong individualism. But for most of the film she cleans up or answers the phone or sends emails. It's too real, too boring, like I'm actually working instead of watching a film.

There's one scene that stands out, when she complains about the possible sexual assault of a new coworker, and it makes a strong albeit disheartening point as everyone else flippantly states nothing can be done.

I don't know what kind of narrative could actually generate change, I thought In the Company of Men would 23 years ago.

I find it's best to avoid relationships at work.

Seems like a potential solution to all this scandal.

I don't think that's how it works but it could work that way.

Perhaps social media's changing things.