the world is on fire. Climate change is affecting so many aspects, and proving to also be fuel for dystopian science fiction films about how the human race evolves to survive. There’s certainly a catalyst here that has roots in the idea that mankind ruined the world, and we now reap what we sew. This is an interesting world created just for the purpose of the Assignment, a very strange, certainly not boring look at what the future could hold for couples looking to become parents.

Elisabeth Olsen and Hamish Patel play a married couple looking to have a baby. In this reality, sex doesn’t get you there. we’ve actually solved the problem of death by disease or aging, and society takes a drug that keeps them at a steady age. one character here mentions their age at one point, and it is certainly past what anyone has actually lived before. So they have to apply for a child, and they go through a week long assessment. Their assessor (Alicia Vickander) is the one and only final say. The assessor determines the test, and their ruling is final. what follows, is bonkers.

the assessor pretty quickly finds herself inching into uncomfortable situations, but then rapidly acts like a toddler, making the typical choices kids would make. Picky eating, food fights, breaking things parents might hold dear, and showing favoritism to one parent over the other. However, as the test goes on, the extremes keep getting reached, with the question of is the assessment designed to break those incapable of parenting so the best parents get kids, or is it designed to make you fail?

I really respect the bold choices this film makes for the most part. There are a few things I could get nitpicky about, including the ending, but I was engaged the whole time. I never wanted to check what was going on with my phone, or break my attention span. It had me, and in a time when so many things feel derivative and recycled, there’s something here that feels refreshingly original. Sure, elements might be compared to other things, but it really keeps pushing in its own direction, powered by three strong performances.

This is the kind of early in the year release I need, something to stay with me, so that at the end of the year, my Best Of list isn’t just films released in the final three months of the year to chase Oscar glory. this is a lot like vikander’s Ex Machina, which also opened in the spring, and pushed moral questions under a science-fiction premise.

the audio description track I had was UK, and I didn’t have a problem with any of the choices. I just wasn’t familiar with the narrator. It seemed to notice all the little sci-fi elements you’ll catch along the way. there are so many little things, like the project Patel’s character is working on to create a lifelike sim, that play their own little parts in this exploration of the ramifications of choices.

I might be going out on a limb, but I liked this film. it has a few imperfections along the way, but I don’t need a film to be perfect to be memorable and liked. I need a film to feel like it is trying to find one of the few remaining original threads left, and trying to cling to some part of that while pushing a story that engages me enough to forget I have a smart phone.

fresh: Final Grade: 8.4/10 Audio Description: A-