Promising Young Woman (2020)
The "rape-revenge" formula can be "fun" in a cathartic way but hasn’t it always felt like something was missing? Promising Young Woman gives us the movie we've been craving, and more. Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut is a game-changer.
In college, Nina Fisher was raped. Now, her best friend Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) pretends to be drunk at clubs, waiting for men to take advantage of her. After she teaches them a lesson they won’t forget, their names are put in her diary but one man still eludes her: Al Monroe.
For what he did, Al Monroe is a terrible person. The circumstances, how much time has passed don't matter. When the justice system fails this spectacularly, it's clear society is complicit. Cassie is willing to roll up her sleeves and make the change happen, one pervert at a time. You're on board but once she goes for her ultimate target, things get dicier. If it were solely about him, it’d be one thing but Cassie wants to take down EVERYONE, including the women she feels didn’t do enough at the time. She goes to cruel, manipulative extremes. You’ll wonder if the real villain of the film isn’t our protagonist.
This is a dark but sensitive film. There is no nudity, the rape is never shown. You feel exhilarated as Cassie embarks on her nightly campaign but revenge isn't glamourized the way you’d expect it. Vengeance has ruined her life. She’s a 30-year-old medical school dropout living with her parents, working at a crappy coffee shop. She has no friends and nothing to do except prey on the lowest of low lives. It’s only a matter of time before her crusade goes too far. And for what? Even if she finds Al Monroe, ruins his career, destroys his reputation, gets everyone to disown him, keeps him in a cage until he gives up all hopes of escape, castrates him, and then tortures him to death for 10 years… it won’t bring Nina back. It won’t bring Cassie’s life back either.
Emerald Fennell repeatedly confronts you with moral ambiguity. Then, she dangles a carrot. Cassie begins dating a former classmate, Ryan Cooper (Bo Burnham). Carey Mulligan is amazing throughout. You sense the swirling emotions beneath her acidic exterior but you’re never able to predict what she will do next. She’s funny, tragic, scary, and has terrific chemistry with Burnham. It's a glimpse of what life might be like if she just let go of her anger, but is it too late?
Promising Young Woman gives you far too much to unpack in just one sitting. We’re shown how you don’t have to participate in sexual assault to be complicit. Failing to intervene, making excuses, giving someone the benefit of the doubt “just because” or simply doubting might make you even worse than “nice guys”. Its conclusion is unexpected and bold. The contrasting messages about revenge are brought together magnificently. It’s frequently uncomfortable and confrontational; a movie for right now that also applies to every era in the past. It’s the best movie of the year because it’s as safe as a black-out-drunk woman at a club. (April 30, 2021)
