Admit it, you have had the thought, “There ought to be a test people have to pass in order to have kids.”

Oh, you might not have ever said it, but you thought it once or twice.

Well, The Assessment, which is currently playing at Robinson Film Center, starts with exactly that premise. But the test takes some unexpected twists and turns into a dark evaluation of the human psyche, like a really extreme Kobayashi Maru.

Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel play Mia and Aaryan, a couple who desire to have a child in a population-controlled future. They have applied for a child and now must face the Assessment — a seven-day evaluation of determine whether they will be allowed a child.

Alicia Vikander stars as Virginia, the assessor. She moves magnificently between the wild abandon of a belligerent, spoiled brat and and the guile of a cold psychological terrorist.

Through the course of her assessment, Virgina tests Mia’s and Aaryan’s mental, emotional and psychological aptitude to be parents. She plays on all kinds of parental fears, from tantrums to losing a child to “some assembly required” to the fear of making the same mistakes our parents did.

The conclusion of the assessment sends everyone, including the audience, into a spiraling series of unexpected events. No, I won’t give it away here. You’ve got to see it for yourself.

- Scott “Scooter” Anderson, Scooter Anderson Communications