Orna Haviv (Liron Ben-Shlush) has some support with women but as the protagonist of Working Woman, she’s mostly around men. She has a well meaning husband, Ofer (Oshri Cohen). He’s a chef who reluctantly supports her as she goes into real estate. They even act out a ‘sexy realtor’ scenario.
Work and children are enough of a burden for Orna, something that Ofer won’t understand. He also won’t understand that her job isn’t as sexy as he thinks it is. That’s especially true since her boss Benny (Menashe Noy) is sexually harassing her and doing so in an escalating manner.
Ben-Shlush is fine in her role. As Orna she’s increasingly assertive while selling condos. She’s even watchable as the main men in her life talk on top of her. And as much as there are defenses to her occasional passivity, there’s something about that trait of hers that feels inconsistent.
Noy is ok as Benny, showing versatility and generosity knowing that they movie isn’t about him. It’s just unfortunate that he has to do a rape scene that’s unnecessarily graphic. Director Michal Aviad also captures this scene, like many in the movie, through takes that feel too long and shaky.
Depicting sexual assault survivors and sleazeballs is in Aviad’s wheelhouse, this time telling a more contained story. This doesn’t help the movie at all, making characters seem like they’re blank slates. There’s a good message here but the execution, through the characters’ lines and their decision making, just feels retrograde.
- Release Date: 9/11/2018
