THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

For the last night of the Estes Park trip, we wanted to end on a banger, so we sidestepped Happy Gilmore 2 for The Assessment, which was undoubtedly more memorable. The jury is still out on whether that’s a good thing; Sammy and Abby logged their displeasure on Letterboxd, I’m sure my parents would’ve done the same if they had the app, but Morgan and I were a bit more positive about it.

While the story had a lot of potential to be interesting and speak on interesting moral and ethical issues, it rejected normal storytelling and replaced it with a ton of uncomfortable, weird sequences that had more sex and icky sounds than anyone should have to endure watching with their family. Virginia’s entire vibe was also very weird, and while there were moments of very dedicated acting (especially when she was pretending to be a child) that were impressive, there were more where her presence and demeanor was off-putting instead of effective.

Despite that, the struggle the film displayed between Aaryan, Mia, and Virginia was very compelling and engaging, and what the film had to say about reality, virtuality, and parenting was really very interesting. The ending was especially effective, as the once-happy couple split and pursued their own beliefs about life and parenting, though Virginia’s fate was less than desirable. Elizabeth Olsen, Himesh Patel, and Alicia Vikander all gave solid performances—Vikander was the (occasionally weird) highlight—and the score contributed to the overall sterile, dystopian aesthetic.

While I probably won’t watch The Assessment again, it was a memorable watch and valiantly delivered its points about parenting, serving as both the best birth control ad imaginable and an encouraging reminder that I’ll be fine as a parent, as long as I keep an eye on my child.