“The Assistant” (** out of four) was a pointless melodrama about a young assistant (Julia Garner) at a high-level executive company who soon becomes aware of the insidious abuse and malevolence that occurs at her company and she finds herself at a personal and emotional crossroads of how to proceed onward. Timely subject matter is heavy-handedly dealt with and results are strange and muted. Garner is strong in the lead but her character is so one-note and thinly defined that it’s hard to get involved with her or the movie. Even so, this won substantial praise when it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.