On the latest episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo steps into a high-concept, near-future world of moral quandaries and psychological pressure with the sci-fi drama “The Assessment.” Directed by Fleur Fortuné and starring Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, and Himesh Patel, the film follows a couple evaluated by the government over seven increasingly intense days to determine whether they’re worthy of having a child. Think of a creepy, contained “Children of Men” by way of Ingmar Bergman and Charlie Kaufman.
“The Assessment” recently premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and hit VOD on April 8, delivering a minimalist but emotionally potent take on societal control, intimacy, and parenthood. To talk through it all, we sat down with both stars to dig into the emotional challenges of the project, their collaborations with Fortuné, and what kind of psychological strength it takes to survive the film’s titular assessment.
Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Mia, said she was drawn to the film’s unusual script and Fortuné’s visionary style. “On the page, it felt like a Bergman film because it was so small,” Olsen said. “And then when I went into the rabbit hole of looking at Fleur’s previous work, I just knew that whatever was in my head was going to be completely different than what’s in her head…I was really excited to see what she was going to come up with.”
But it wasn’t just aesthetics that hooked Olsen—it was the challenge of the tone. “There was a need for us to, as a group, and as like an actor’s troupe, find what the tone is of this piece because it could be many things,” she explained. That odd balance included absurdist humor, strange power dynamics, and at least one unforgettable adult-toddler scene. “There was something about this story that I felt like I was given an opportunity to find my edge and try and push further than that,” Olsen added.
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Meanwhile, Himesh Patel, who plays her partner, said he was immediately taken with the story’s originality and the challenge of portraying someone emotionally restrained but deeply vulnerable. “There’s a lot going on underneath,” he said of his character. “We dig into his trauma, his sort of past trauma…there is a lot of heart underneath there.”
The actors also discussed the film’s eerie production design and the unique experience of working with a real-life chimpanzee for Patel’s character’s futuristic programming scenes. “We had a cat, and then we went and shot one day in Paris with a chimp,” he said. “She was incredible. I met her the day before we shot, and we drove out to meet her just outside of Paris. It was a hell of an experience—not something you get to do every day. She did really well in what was a very strange environment.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Discourse interview without checking in on Olsen’s MCU journey. When asked about her character’s abrupt villain turn in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Olsen acknowledged the fan debate of whether or not it should have happened but said she enjoyed the shift. Olsen even noted that it was something that wasn’t touched in the reshoot process. “I actually wasn’t a part of reshoots, so it was just what I did is what stayed. I think that there were a lot of reshoots but not really pertaining to what I did. It was an interesting turn. But one that I was excited to take and really, you know, kind of relish in it instead of tiptoeing into it. I thought it was something delicious.”
She also addressed the ambiguity around Wanda’s fate and the speculation over a possible return. Asked what she would want next for Wanda, she pitched a version she’s carried in her head for years: “My dream version is like 50 years later, and I have white hair that is…such a big, massive white wig. And I’m this, like, gnarly face of wrinkles doing like a Tracy Ullman thing. And I am just like a creature that they find. And that’s how I imagine Wanda’s next journey. It’s something I have quite literally pitched [to Marvel].”
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Patel, for his part, offered updates on his growing resume, including his mysterious role in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic “The Odyssey.” Currently filming in Greece, Patel said, “We’re about a month in. Time ceases to mean much when you’re working on something like this. But yeah, we’re still only at the very beginning.”
While he couldn’t reveal who he was playing or whether he would reunite with co-star Robert Pattinson, he shared insights from working with Nolan: “You’ve got to work hard and be ready at any point. Chris creates an intimacy even in the biggest of environments. You just know when you come out the other end, you’re not going to have any notes.”
Listen to the full podcast below.
The Playlist Presents: Himesh Patel’s Film & TV Recommendation Playlist:
- “The Brutalist” (2024)
- “A Real Pain” (2024)
- “Daredevil: Born Again” (2025)
“The Assessment” is available on VOD Platforms now.fi
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