Alicia Vikander at the ZFF "I was pregnant - and tested prospective parents for suitability"

The Oscar-winning Swedish actress Alicia Vikander presents her new film "The Assessment" and tells blue News in an interview about the challenges her role as a merciless assessor brought with it for potential parents.

In the dystopian sci-fi thriller "The Assessment", the French director with the beautiful name Fleur Fortune paints a worrying scenario of the future. However, in view of the rapidly growing world population, her ideas do not seem completely absurd and are thought-provoking.

In her thrillingly staged, stirring debut feature, Alicia Vikander plays Virginia, an assessor who subjects couples who wish to have children to a suitability test for potential parents. The test candidates, who are the focus of "The Assessment", are superbly embodied by Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel.

They make a seemingly perfect couple, are both highly intelligent, good-looking and firmly convinced that they will be the ideal parents. But they have not reckoned with Virginia's highly unconventional and nerve-wracking methods. Vikander is on top form as the strict expert witness and delivers one of the best acting performances of her career. Her portrayal is more versatile than ever before, because while she is introduced at the beginning as a highly responsible, precise "New World" official, she pretends to be a toddler during the tests with the potential parents and behaves in a correspondingly carefree and reckless manner.

By driving the couple up the wall and driving them crazy, she provides numerous curious and funny moments. Only in the final phase does the film reveal a little more about the background of the mysterious Virginia, with Vikander also shining in deeply emotional and touching scenes.

Already awarded an Oscar

Before the premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, the visibly cheerful Swedish actress told blue News in an interview that it was precisely the multifaceted nature of her role that presented her with the greatest challenge. In addition, Vikander was in the middle of her pregnancy during filming, which was all the more challenging given the subject matter of the film.

This is the second time she has attended the ZFF. In 2017, she presented her specially produced film "Euphoria" in Zurich.

As part of the premiere of "The Assessment", Alicia Vikander will be honored with the Golden Eye Award for her remarkable career.

Over the course of her career, she has regularly appeared in historical dramas, including "A Royal Affair", "Anna Karenina" and, most recently, "Firebrand". Her historical films "The Light Between Oceans" and "The Danish Girl" were not quite as rich in costumes, but at least as successful. For the latter, she was awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Always a woman of strong character

As a versatile and courageous actress, she has also established herself in the field of action cinema. Appearances in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Jason Bourne" were followed by the renowned role of Lara Croft in "Tomb Raider". With a convincing, dedicated and energetic performance, she presented herself as a strong protagonist.

In the sci-fi thriller "Ex Machina", she once again showed a completely different side, appearing charming and seductive as a robot woman, but also mysterious and unpredictable at the same time.

Most of the characters she embodies are women with strong characters and often represent values that she herself stands for with her down-to-earth, considerate manner.

"The Assessment" is expected to be released in Swiss-German cinemas on April 3, 2025.

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