Promising Young Woman (2020)
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Promising Young Woman Movie Review
Promising Young Woman is a 2020 thriller film directed by Emerald Fennel and starring Carey Mulligan. It’s one of the best movies of the year.
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“You didn’t think this was the end, did you?
It is now. Enjoy the wedding!“
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It follows a woman who takes it upon herself to avenge the death of her close friend. The film is obviously very relevant for Hollywood that just went through the Me Too movement, but it doesn’t cash in on those relevant themes. It’s much more than that as it truly explores the trauma from rape and the many problematic facets in society when it comes to the punishment of rape perpetrators.
The film showcases the painful truth that many men will just turn a blind eye to the whole rape situation, even worse the people in charge that could fix it can also brush it aside. The film may seem very simplistic and populist on the surface, and it is wildly entertaining, but it’s much more than just fun as it really manages to tackle these issues with a lot of nuance at display.
The connection between being drunk and wanting sex is here tackled with full force. We do not get answers because there are no easy answers, but we do get questions. The lack of empathy toward these issues is painfully showcased while the toxic male code of sticking with one another even in crime is honestly portrayed. Yes, the film may be misandrist a bit as it really needed more positive male characters in its roster, but it chose to focus on the issue of rape itself, so I was ultimately fine with that choice.
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Above all else, the movie is wildly entertaining as I have said above already. In fact, this is by far the year’s most fun flick, the one that held my interest as I was transfixed to the screen throughout. It succeeds as this strangely funny at times, dramatic and thematically interesting thriller that is so intense, but also incredibly fun in every single plot point. The tonal inconsistencies are present, but for the most part I hugely respected the film for trying to be all these things simultaneously.
What Carey Mulligan did here is nothing short of spectacular. She has always been a great actress, but this will undoubtedly be the signature role of her career. The main reason why she is worthy of praise lies in the casting alone as she wasn’t a perfect fit for this role on paper, but she proved us all wrong when we got to see just how incredible she was here. Cassie is a deeply damaged soul who is so firmly fixed on this one issue and she is so vengeful, but otherwise a sweet girl. Mulligan sold both of those faces of her personality while particularly shining in the thriller scenes where she was simply badass with her line delivery being particularly amusing.
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Again, the men are just the monsters in the movie for the most part while even her love interest proved to be far from a great person, which to me was a bit too much, but still it tied well into the whole ending plotwise. I also really appreciated the parents’ angle and how tough it must have been for them to have a troubled daughter such as Cassie.
Promising Young Woman has so many instantly iconic scenes, but the standout one has to be that ending. Wow, never in a million years would I guess that the movie would end in this particular way, making this film one of the bravest and most original when it comes to cinematic conclusions. Without spoiling anything, the whole bachelor party was insane and incredibly suspenseful while the outcome was immensely unexpected. The final scene managed to be both uplifting and deeply tragic, which is something that you rarely see in movies, but they somehow made me feel both of these emotions. It was just the case of authentic perfection through and through.
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The movie is very strongly directed by a newcomer, but special praise must go to the cinematography, which is truly stupendous as the film cleverly felt very girly and feminine while that feel was boosted with a particularly intriguing modern music video execution of many important scenes. The same praise goes for the costumes and make-up. It’s just an all around very cool, kinetic and fun movie that is difficult not to absolutely adore.
