Elizabeth Olsen's 2025 Sci-Fi Movie On Hulu Is Easily One Of The Year's Best Thrillers
Mass audiences might know her best as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Elizabeth Olsen has always made interesting choices and proven her talent outside of big-budget blockbusters. Just take a look at "Ingrid Goes West" or "Wind River" on the movie side, or HBO's "Love & Death" on the small screen, all of which showcase her diverse skills. Now, in 2025, she's delivered what might be one of her best projects yet in "The Assessment," a sci-fi thriller that impressed critics and is currently streaming on Hulu.
Olsen doesn't want to star in made-for-streaming movies, but if "The Assessment" is representative of what we can expect from streaming platforms going forward, that might well change. In truth, the film wasn't actually made for Hulu, though that's where it's likely to get most of its attention. Originally premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, "The Assessment" was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures in March 2025. Unfortunately, it didn't get much attention outside of a stellar critical response, but now that it's available on Hulu, there's no excuse for us all not to give it a go.
Written by Dave Thomas, Nell Garfath-Cox, and John Donnelly, the film marks the feature directorial debut of music video maestro Fleur Fortuné, who previously created visuals for the likes of Skrillex, Pharrell Williams, and a 14-minute surreal, dystopian short film for Travis Scott's "Birds in the Trap." "The Assessment" is similarly dystopian in that it plays out in a future where procreation is strictly controlled by the authorities. It stars Olsen as Mia, a hopeful mother who, alongside her husband Aaryan (Himash Patel), has to undergo a rigorous test to determine whether she's able to become a parent.
Elizabeth Olsen plays a hopeful mother in a grim future in The Assessment
"The Assessment" began as a script from Dave Thomas and Nell Garfath-Cox (aka Mrs. & Mr. Thomas, as they're credited in the film). It just so happened that when Fleur Fortuné was first shown the screenplay by producer Stephen Woolley, she and her husband were struggling to conceive their first child. As such, the director immediately identified with the subject matter of a woman doing everything she can to become a mother despite major obstacles. In the movie, of course, those obstacles come in the form of an authoritarian government that exercises extreme control over parenthood, as opposed to some other exterior force.
"The Assessment" follows Mia and Aaryan as they're subjected to a tough seven-day test to determine whether they're viable candidates for parenthood. In a world where resources have become extremely rare, the authorities have to maintain strict oversight on reproduction and therefore send assessors to evaluate prospective parents. Virginia (Oscar-winner and former "Tomb Raider" star Alicia Vikander) is chosen to lead Mia and Aaryan's test, which involves the assessor moving into the couple's home for a week and observing their lives. Naturally, things don't exactly go smoothly, with the routine test soon devolving into a nightmare and ultimately raising questions about the restrictive society in which Mia and Aaryan live.
All of this impressed the critics who saw the movie upon its initial release, with reviewers praising the sci-fi thriller's insistence on interrogating its themes and ideas while resisting special effects and spectacle. Critics also had positive things to say about everyone involved, especially Olsen and Vikander and their top-notch performances.
The Assessment is a gloomy look at an all-too likely future — but you should still watch it
Elizabeth Olsen has said she doesn't miss being the MCU's Scarlet Witch, though she hasn't ruled out a return to her biggest role. At this point, the actor can do pretty much whatever she wants, both in the sense she's earned enough to make the movies she's interested in making and in the sense that she's just really good and should be able to do whatever the heck she likes. Hopefully, whatever that turns out to be, it will be as good as "The Assessment," which is easily one of the best sci-fi movies of 2025, despite the fact it remains largely overlooked by mass audiences.
The movie has garnered an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times praised Vikander for turning her assessor character into "an unsettling tour de force of disciplined abandon" while also writing that Olsen "registers the cracks in the veneer of a smart, good yet questioning soul with aplomb." RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire similarly praised Fleur Fortuné for "her confident use of framing, texture, and color" and for infusing the film with "a ton of style." Then, there's the setting of the movie, which is bound to feel unsettlingly prescient given the state of the world. As Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote in her positive review, "'The Assessment' smartly taps into and maintains its focus on the near universal anxiety about parenting in a world made increasingly uninhabitable by overconsumption and climate change."
So, if you're looking for first-rate performances, are okay with taking a close look at how our own grim future might play out, and don't fancy sending the "Twilight" movies back to the top of the Hulu charts, "The Assessment" is a must-watch.