‘Working Woman‘, released in 2018, belongs to the category of films addressing the delicate and painful problem of sexual harassment, films that probably waited a long time to be made, and which the Me Too movement and its famous cases made possible or in any case hastened their making and launching. Director Michal Aviad is not among the well-known names in Israeli cinema, ‘Working Woman‘ being only her second feature film. Most of the other titles in her filmography are documentaries or television films about women, their role in the history of Israel and their position in society. Thematically, therefore, ‘Working Woman‘ falls along the same lines, but the professional tools are those of fiction. In addition to the emotional charge, Michal Aviad achieves something more – the film is very much rooted in the Israeli reality but also has a degree of generality in approach that makes it accessible and relevant to audiences in many other places in the world.
It is worth mentioning that Israel was not spared its own famous cases of sexual harassment, some of them enjoying extensive media coverage and involving personalities from the highest spheres of public and political life. There also were trials and deserved punishments. Some of them have happened in previous decades, but as everywhere in the world, more have been brought to the attention of public opinion in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. However, Michal Aviad and the co-authors of the script chose to tell the story of an anonymous Israeli middle-class woman, a story that has probably happened countless times in today’s Israel. Orna, the mother of three children, whose husband is the owner of a restaurant business that did yet take off, is hired by a construction contractor on the basis of a vague protection – Benny, the owner of the company, had been her commanding officer in the army. She is smart and efficient, she succeeds in her work, but she soon begins to understand that Benny is not only interested in her personal performance. The balance of power between them is unfortunately very widespread in the macho Israeli society. Many men holding positions of command starting from the army and continuing at work, impose on women relationships that start with allusions and too often turn into harassment and even sexual assault. The film describes the degradation of the relationship between Orna and Benny from the woman’s point of view, the escalation of harassment, the transformation of the young woman’s professional and personal life into an unbearable nightmare.
The main problem of the film is in my opinion the linear, predictable, almost didactic script. Starting from the good intentions to expose the problem as completely as possible, the authors introduced in the story all the warning signs and then the stages of the degradation of the relationship between Orna and Benny. The exposition is effective but the narrative structure is too predictable, at least in the first two thirds of the script. The ending changes the approach but creates another discussion, the solution being personal and not systemic. But this also happens many times in life. Fortunately, these shortcomings are offset by the particularly successful interpretations of the two actors who assume the main roles. Liron Ben-Shlush enters the role of Orna with courage and sensitivity, living on the screen the trauma of her character, the courage and dignity that allow her to fight for economic survival, personal safety and family integrity. Menashe Noy in the role of the man who imagines that anything is allowed due to his social and economic status, manages to reveal without excusing the psychology of his character. The deep psychological understanding and the attention to details of director Michal Aviad make the cinematic experience of watching this film perfectly credible for Israeli viewers and relevant for viewers from anywhere.