"Promising Young Woman" - Film Review
What may go down as one of the most divisive movies in recent years, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman will no doubt start conversations about sexual assault and what constitutes justice for victims. It can be said that Fennell came to her directorial debut with an impressive self-assuredness that could be mistaken for that of a much more seasoned director. The vision she had for the production design and the soundtrack are impeccable. It is perhaps one of the only uses of a Paris Hilton “Stars are Blind'' needle drop that packs an emotional punch.
Cassie (Carrie Mulligan) is a medical school dropout in her mid-thirties. She left school after her best friend, Nina, was raped and the school refused to take any action against the man who did it. Cassie now lives at home with her parents and works at a local coffee shop. She always carries a notebook with her to keep track of the nights she spends at bars pretending to be drunk and a list of the “nice guys” who take her home and inevitably try to take advantage of her. The notebook gives the audience the idea that Cassie is planning something big, most likely related to what happened to Nina. Cassie is spurred to further action when an old classmate from medical school, Ryan (Bo Burnham), shows up at the coffee shop where Cassie works.
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The conscious choice to cast men who have built their careers on being good guys as the men who try to take advantage of Cassie’s fake drunk act was extraordinarily inspired. Adam Brody will forever be known as nice-guy Seth Cohen from The O.C., and that works to the advantage of the statement the filmmakers set out to make – that rapists have no singular defining characteristic and they can often be the people you least expect. It is a profound choice that works exceptionally well because of the casting of Brody, Chris Lowell (aka Piz from Veronica Mars), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka Mclovin’ from Superbad), Max Greenfield (aka Schmidt from New Girl), and others.
In this pastel, sleek, candy-coated world Fennell has created, Mulligan’s lead performance is a showstopper. While parts of the movie can feel too exaggerated or too unrealistic, Mulligan is the grounding force. The anger simmering beneath her pink sweaters and purposefully girlish looks is destructive. This anger is always present, but the way Mulligan is able to make it ebb and flow depending on the scene is extraordinary. It is not an exaggeration to say that her performance carries the film and that without it, the film would not work.
Much has been made about the ending of Promising Young Woman. No spoilers here, but there is simply no way to end a film like this in a way that will please every audience member. The ending simply showcases the hollowness of justice, a sentiment society is all too familiar with.
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