Promising Young Woman is the rare kind of movie that
remains engrossing and even exciting in its more uncomfortable moments, of
which there are many. Revenge movies are intertwined with, and can’t help but
exploit, violence in one way or another: tragic violence leads to righteous
violence. As the premise for an action movie, they are usually pretty
entertaining. For the icky and loathsome rape/revenge subgenre, the result,
more often than not, is usually grim and joyless. However, the debut film from
writer-director Emerald Fennell is a different kind of revenge movie; in fact,
it is a different kind of movie all around. To describe this film as simply a
revenge picture, or a dark comedy, or a social issue movie, or a thriller would
be a disservice. It is all those things and more, much more. Just like its main character, Promising Young Woman plays with expectations to great effect. This is is easily one of the best films of 2020.
Carey Mulligan gives an absolutely incredible performance as
Cassie, a 30-year-old medical school dropout with a peculiar hobby. On certain
nights she dons a completely out of character outfit, goes out to a club or
bar, and pretends to be falling down drunk. Without fail, a man will offer to
take her home… or back to their place. Once they are alone and the man begins
to take advantage of the nearly passed out Cassie, she reveals that she is not
drunk at all. They have been caught, and what she does next is not what you might
expect.
The movie becomes something really special when
the revenge plot kicks in. A chance meeting with someone from her medical
school days spurs Cassie to give certain people from her past their overdue
comeuppance for an ignored crime. The film reveals slowly, piece by piece, the
events in Cassie’s past that set her on her current path. Fennell’s screenplay
spares us flashbacks or exposition dumps. Cassie becomes more and
more layered with each bit of information revealed and Mulligan’s performance
becomes more complex and interesting as well. Cassie goes to some dark places
and does unlikeable things, but Mulligan always holds our interest if not our
sympathy. As smart as I think Fennell’s screenplay and direction are, I also
think that Promising Young Woman does not work without Carey Mulligan. Her
Best Actress Oscar nomination is well deserved.
Cassie’s revenge targets are numbered, literally, with roman
numerals. You might be reminded of The Bride’s list of revenge targets in Quentin
Tarantino’s Kill Bill or The Bride’s list of revenge targets in François
Truffaut’s The Bride Wore Black. While those women only had murder on
their minds, Cassie’s revenge for her targets is far less violent, but far more
devastating. Cassie’s goal is not what you would expect from decades of
movies in which a woman is wronged or abused, toughens up, then has a
physically violent revenge. What happens in Promising Young Woman is so
much more interesting and, in many ways, more disturbing.
Promising Young Woman’s valid commentary on rape culture
and those that participate in it or look the other way and society’s attitudes
towards the abuse of women is so interwoven into the story that the film never
feels didactic. Even in its darkest moments, Promising Young Woman is
never dour or grim or dreadful. There are great moments of tension and unease and it has difficult scenes and difficult characters, but the film itself is
not difficult to watch. As Roger Ebert would say, “no good movie is depressing.”
There are moments of comedy, both light and dark, that break some of the tension
and offer some relief but they also enhance the tone of the scenes. It is a
delicate balance but well executed. The shifts from light to dark,
comedy to drama, are stealthy and believable thanks to Fennell’s deft
direction. Her sharp and clever screenplay takes turns and then turns again and
every turn is challenging and intriguing. Fennell's Oscar nominations for Best
Director and Original Screenplay are very well deserved. It is impressive and
wonderful that everything in Promising Young Woman works as well as it
does. I wish more movies were this daring and inventive.
Nominees: Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, producers
Director: Emerald Fennell
Screenplay: Emerald Fennell
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Allison Brie
Production Companies: FilmNation Entertainment, LuckyChap Entertainment
Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: December 25th, 2020
Total Nominations: 5, including Best Picture
Other Nominations: Actress-Carey Mulligan; Director-Emerald Fennell; Original Screenplay-Emerald Fennell; Editing-Frédéric Thoraval
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