By Nadia Ranaputri
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| Image credit: IMDB |
Director: Emerald Fennel
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alfred Molina, Alison Brie, Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown, Laverne Cox, Chris Lowell.
When I first saw the trailer for Promising Young Woman, I knew that I had to see it. There's just something about a trailer that can make instantly catch your attention, and whoever edited the trailer for Emerald Fennel's film deserves a raise. The first thing you see when the film opens is our very own titular character played by Carey Mulligan in a night club, drunk to the point of almost passing out. Her drunken state is noticed by a man who offers to take her home. With the belief that she is too drunk to notice her surroundings, the man decides to take her to his apartment instead. This proves to be the biggest mistake of his life, because it turns out, she isn't actually drunk, but stone cold sober this entire time.
Promising Young Woman revolves around Cassandra Thomas (Carey Mulligan), a med-school dropout working in a small coffee shop and still lives with her parents, despite being in her late twenties. But there's more to Cassandra than meets the eye. After bearing witness to a traumatizing event that leads to her eventual dropout, Cassandra spends nights pretending to be drunk in order to lure men into taking her home. She plays off with this facade until the so-called "nice guys" begin to take advantage of her. This of course, ends with Cassandra confronting each of the men that try to make a non-consensual move on her. Her reason for doing so is to teach these men a lesson about preying on women who aren't conscious enough to give consent.
Carey Mulligan is alluring as the film's lead, Cassandra Thomas. Mulligan's performance walks the line between innocent, cunning, and at times, effectively vulnerable. Mulligan makes the role her own, and it's hard to see anyone else in playing Cassandra. The character of Cassandra herself has many layers that the film slowly unravels, and each time, Mulligan's performance becomes even more nuanced than the last. There's times where she menacingly confronts those in the wrong, then in the next scene, she's dancing and singing along to Paris Hilton's Stars Are Blind in the middle of a pharmacy. It's not easy to play a character that displays many different sides, but Mulligan makes it work effortlessly. Bo Burnham too was surprisingly good in his role as Ryan, which seems a little bizarre considering that I first knew him from Vine and his standup specials on Netflix, but ever since I saw his directorial debut Eighth Grade, my appreciation for him just sky-rocketed to new heights. Here, Burnham adds that much needed charm to the film and helps ground the film a little. There are also a couple of very familiar faces in the film such as Alfred Molina, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alison Brie, and Laverne Cox; who all give equally solid performances, particularly Molina.
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| Image credit: Luna Palace Cinemas |
Promising Young Woman is a striking film, both from the cinematography to the story itself. It's so full of style, you really can't help but be drawn into its world. It's unashamedly colorful and vibrant, and while it contrasts the theme of the film, it works. The color grading is in line with something like The Florida Project, the kind of bright yet neutral colors, like colorful candy canes that just enhances the film. The cinematography too is stunning. For a revenge thriller, it sure has a lot of sleek visuals. That's what drew me in to the film in the first place. When a film has striking visuals, it elevates the film and turn it into an experience. Plenty of films have done that, and Promising Young Woman happens to be the latest. It doesn't do anything particularly innovating when it comes to camera work, but that's not to say that it lacks any good cinematography, because it still looks striking and knows how to have fun with color. Even the songs featured in the film are used in ways that gives it an entirely new spin on the songs, almost mirthless, the most notable being a rapid violin cover of Britney Spears' Toxic.
The film reminds me a lot of a recent HBO show I saw in 2020 called I May Destroy You, a gut-wrenching dark comedy about sexual assault. But while I May Destroy You tells the story from the perspective of the victim, Promising Young Woman tells its story from the lens of the person close to the victim, yet it's still just as compelling and dark. The film's first act consists of these typically "nice guys" who lure Cassie in to their homes with their charm that eventually wears off as the night goes on, prompting Cassie to drop her facade and take matters into her own hands. It discusses the "he said she said" situation, the avid excuses like "we were drunk", or "we were young! I've changed now," to which Cassandra mockingly answers, "if I hear that excuse one more time." At the same time, the film doesn't make a show of deliberately pointing their finger to just one specific culprit, but to also shed light on the people that permitted such behaviors. It also discusses those who went silent on such cases, one character going to the point of bullying the victim into dropping the allegations. One of Cassandra's goals is to make sure that her former associates acknowledge that they each had a role in allowing something so vile to happen and have it dismissed without question. It's clear and direct in what it wants to say, but it never feels too on the nose or shoved down your throat.
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| Image credit: IMDB |
Between all of that, the film manages to keep itself balanced despite the change of tones. Sometimes it's a revenge thriller, then it's a dark comedy, and there's some drama in the next, but none of these feel out of place. Kind of like how Parasite is able to change tones from a dark comedy in the first half, to a thriller in the second half in an instant that subverts the audiences' expectation in a spectacular way. Promising Young Woman does the same, but instead of having the first half set in one genre and change to the next, it continuously changes tones back and forth as the film goes on. But it's so swift in changing tones that you don't realize that you're probably watching three different films, they just mesh together so well into one cohesive film. There's something compelling in a film that knows how to turn what could have been a mess of clashing genres, into a coherent and compelling story. Yet, it never falters nor does it take away from the main subject matter. It is still first and foremost a revenge story centered around the trauma and stigmas of sexual assault. Better yet, it's handled in a thought-provoking and gripping way. And in terms of story, it's not a film that gives information on the get go. It rarely ever focuses on flashbacks and sets its sights on what happens in the present. Cassie's backstory and reasoning are given in snippets that are slowly unraveled in each act.
I did have one major gripe with this film, which was the last 20 minutes. I've heard from some who feel divisive over the final act, and sadly, I am one of them. Though, hearing Emerald Fennel's reason, I could somewhat understand why she chose to end it that way. I'm obviously not going to give away what happened, but I suspect that a lot of people are going to be divided over it. Other than that, for Fennel's feature directorial debut, Promising Young Woman is a stunner. It's a film that is more than just a reflection of the #MeToo movement. Given that she's written episodes for Killing Eve, it's no wonder that she is able to give so much flair and life to such an engrossing revenge story. Fennel is able to captivate and subvert audiences with her virtuoso piece. It's fascinating when a director's first directorial debut brings new life into the industry. Directors like Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, even Bo Burnham with Eighth Grade; they have a vision for the film they want to make, and they're able to execute their vision in a fine way. With Promising Young Woman, it's safe to say that Emerald Fennel joins the ranks.
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| Image credit: Variety |
Overall verdict: Promising Young Woman is a stellar directorial debut from Emerald Fennel. Carey Mulligan brings another outstanding performance as the film's lead Cassandra, showcasing the many layers of Cassandra's character in impressive fashion, from menacing, lively, and even a little comedic. Bo Burnham was also a surprise favorite, giving a charming performance that grounds the film a little. The first thing you'd probably notice going into Promising Young Woman is the visuals. The film has its fun with striking cinematography and vibrant candy colors. But the themes that it discusses contrasts those visuals. It is a film that touches on serious subject matters regarding sexual assault, and it conveys its message in a very compelling way. It's direct in saying what it wants to say without ever feeling like it's being shoved down your throat. Fennel's script imbues these themes and messages in a thought-provoking and engrossing way, whilst also able to juggle various genres in its run-time. It first starts off as a revenge thriller, then it switches into a dark comedy, and even a drama at times; yet it's so swift in balancing these genres that you don't feel like you're watching several different movies at once. Moreover, Fennel is able to create a story that borders the line between stylistically entertaining and compelling, whilst giving it a reasonable amount of depth, making Promising Young Woman as more than just a typical revenge story.
Stars: 4.4/5
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