FilmSnobReviews

Title: Working Woman
Rating: NR
Director: Michal Aviad
Starring: Liron Ben-Shlush, Menashe Noy, Oshri Cohen
Runtime: 1hr 33min

What It Is: When her husband’s restaurant is at the end of its rope, Orna (Ben-Shlush), mother of two, decides to join the workforce in order to help support her family. She ends up getting a job as an assistant to the head-strong Benny (Noy). At first, she’s overjoyed and gets along well with her coworkers but immediately comes to realize her superior has alternative means of keeping her when he begins making inappropriate and unsettling advances towards her. Orna finds herself losing control as she juggles her family and her threatening workplace.

What We Think: A relatively captivating watch. Paced tensely yet with naturalistic subtly resulted in what felt a very sympathetic and very real story. It features wonderful performances and solid casting guided by a seamless script that accurately portray’s this woman’s story as her relationships grow more complicated and troubling the farther the harassment and abuse are taken. Though fictional, it’s very obviously a well-delivered account that would ring hauntingly true for many if not most women with experience in the workplace. It displays very real conflicts; for that, this film deserves respect. It definitely feels as if it was based on someone’s personal account.

Our Grade: B, While its strengths are very, very strong, where it seems to lack the final push into a place of constant reflection, of going back to think on it days after watching it, has to do with just that: it lacks certain memorability, namely in its rather blunt and cliche third act/ending and characters that aren’t the most memorable either. Otherwise: this film is a well-shot, well-paced, honest yet quiet film that juggles a lot when it comes to its characters’ relationships and interactions. It serves as a wonderful way to start an important conversation about the horrors and complexities of sexual harassment and manipulation in the workforce.