Promising Young Woman (2020)
“It’s every man’s worst nightmare, getting accused of something like that.” – Al.
“Can you guess what every woman’s worst nightmare is?” – Cassandra.
Before I start the review, I thought I’d highlight that the trailer for this movie is really, really good. The art of a good trailer seems to have completely disappeared lately. We went from old trailers with the American voiceover guy yelling “THIS SUMMERRRRR” to modern trailers that are all about ten minutes long and reveal the whole plot. So it’s awesome to have a teaser trailer like this, with a flash of key scenes (but no plot reveals) and a banger of a Toxic remix to really draw you in. Check it out below – it’s a ripper.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Directed by: Emerald Fennell
Written by: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Adam Brody, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
This movie is amazing – easily the best film I’ve seen in 2021.
I left the movie theatre thinking that Carey Mulligan will get nominated for an Oscar, Fennell might get nominated for directing, and the movie might get nominated for Best Picture (this one’s less likely, but you never know).
In what is essentially her writing and directorial debut, Emerald Fennell (who also acts and plays Camilla on the latest season of The Crown) has launched herself onto the scene with this female-driven revenge thriller. Promising Young Woman follows our protagonist Cassandra (Mulligan), a young woman who is a med-school dropout still living at home. Traumatised by a tragic event in her past (when a university friend was sexually assaulted by fellow students) Cassandra seeks vengeance against those who have wronged her and her friend.
In short, I have zero complaints about any of the major facets of the film. Casting, great. Plot, great. Ending, great. Pacing of the film, great. Music and score, great. Everything is elite, which adds up to a great viewing experience.
There’s a lot of layers to the story – with both the characters and the genre of the film developing from scene-to-scene. One scene it’s a thriller, the next it’s a rom-com, the next it’s a sit-com, the next it’s a horror movie. It keeps the audience on their toes, keeps the story moving, and allows us to see the characters in different settings. This is a testament to Fennell, who has created a female lead to compete with her contemporaries - Cassie is every bit as menacing, intelligent and threatening as Kill Bill’s Bride, Gone Girl’s Amy, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Lisbeth. However, that’s the clever thing about the script – Cassie is presented as the protagonist very early on – she’s our hero. Introduced to us through a quick montage of her laying the bait for a bunch of male predators (Brody and Mintz-Plasse) by pretending to be a vulnerable and incapacitated girl at a bar, Cassie emerges as the hero when revealing that she is not as defenceless as they first thought, berating and terrifying the men into submission. She’s presented as a beacon for female activists the world over – a vigilante fighting the entitled sexual predators prowling bars.
However, as the movie progresses, and more of her ‘double-life’ is revealed, you start to question whether you should be rooting for Cassie at all. She’s clearly a sociopath, and Fennell keeps you in the dark with how far she has gone in reprimanding the men on her nights out – is she violent? Is she on medication? How long has this been going on? A perfect soundtrack, which comprises of ironically placed bubbly pop songs mixed with ominous instrumentals of Britney Spears’ Toxic and Charlie XCX’s Boys, hammers home that something isn’t quite right with Cassie. In fact, the scenes of her sitting on her bed and jotting in a diary are reminiscent of the creepy daughter in Get Out. It’s up to you as the audience member to decide if Cassie is an anti-hero we should be supporting - like a more sane Harley Quinn - or if she’s just plain terrifying.
The character of Cassie is what makes the movie a must-see, but it wouldn’t be anything without Carey Mulligan’s portrayal. Her performance as the unhinged, neurotic, and intelligent protagonist is terrifying, magnetic and brilliant. Mulligan has a commanding presence when she needs to, and is also able to tap into the romantic and lighter side of Cassie’s life at will. Known for her work in An Education, Inside LLewyn Davis, Drive, and probably most recognisable as Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby, I’m hoping that Mulligan will get her second Oscar nomination for this. She’s THAT good.
The subject matter in the film is clearly disturbing, but that’s the whole point. Fennell is highlighting how often females are painted as lying harlots and men painted as victims in sexual assault cases. In essence, it’s a dark parody of the #MeToo movement sweeping Hollywood and the world. And yeah, I know that “there ARE cases of defamation where men HAVE been wrongly accused blah blah blah”, but the script is filled with lines that you would have heard before in a bar or a club that make your skin crawl. Lines like “They put themselves in danger, dressing like that”,“She’s just asking for it”, and “We were kids, it was just a bit of fun” -they’re meant to make you uncomfortable, and make the interactions Cassie has more realistic and relatable. Adding to this is the casting of the creepy men in the film with actors renowned for their innocent characters. The ‘nice guys’ who end up being creeps when they take Cassie home are none other than innocent old Seth from The OC (Brody) and McLovin from Superbad (Mintz-Plasse). Basically, Fennell has created a fictional world, but she makes sure you don’t forget that it is very much grounded in reality.
However, it’s not ALL doom and gloom – there is some comedic relief in the movie, mainly in the form of Cassie’s love interest Ryan (Burnham), who’s the sort of sarcastic quick-witted lothario you only get in movies, and her parents (presented with fantastic performances by Jennifer Coolidge and Clancy Brown). The rest of the cast is rounded out with some big name actors including Connie Britton, Laverne Cox, Sam Richardson, Molly Shannon, Chris Lowell, Alison Brie and Alfred Molina – all playing their roles perfectly for their short time on screen.
I’ve gone super in-depth here, but it’s a really good, entertaining thriller that you should all watch. Relevant social commentary with a great script, story and acting – there aren’t too many thrillers like this. A+ to Mulligan, and I’m looking forward to seeing if Fennell becomes the ‘next big thing’ in Hollywood å la Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig.
Rating: 8.5/10
Some ‘final thoughts’/findings:
- I haven’t confirmed this, but I assume that the title ‘Promising Young Woman’ is a spin on the title of a similar female-led thriller with an unhinged lead – ‘Single White Female’ (made in 1992). That movie is actually referenced in PYW, so just putting two and two together. For anyone who wants to watch Single White Female, do, it’s pretty cool. For anyone who wants to watch the modern remake of Single White Female called The Roommate with Leighton Meester and Mika Kelly, don’t – it’s so so so so so so so bad.
- The movie was produced by Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, after Fennell pitched the opening scene to her. Pretty cool.
- It was filmed in only 23 days.