Although a movie might appear humorous or satirical on the outside, often the best films are so dark in nature due to their embrace of reality. Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman is just that: a darkly twisted look at the way society takes advantage of women. This film is one of the most powerful and needed stories of this entire year and one that I have been waiting to see for months now. Fennell's direction, the dark turns, the performances, and the editing are only some of the best parts about this film and they all work together in such marvelous ways to create a revenge thriller that is not soon to be forgotten. Even though I had some issues with the lack of revenge action that this movie seemed to promise, I was still thoroughly entertained by the fantastic writing and filmmaking prowess that every cast and crew member involved seemed to show.
Working at a coffee shop since dropping out of medical school, Cassandra (Carey Mulligan) is also constantly working to get revenge for a friend of hers from her past. She goes to bars and acts like she is too drunk to walk and when men take her home to take advantage of her, she sets them on the right path. When Cassie meets Ryan (Bo Burnham) and starts to genuinely fall in love with him, she is forced to reconsider her goal and the revenge she is seeking. Emerald Fennell's writing and direction may be what made me most excited about this film but while I still ended up loving it, there were some issues I just could not get behind. My main problem with Promising Young Woman is that it never quite gives its audience the action, excitement, and revenge drama that its trailers so brilliantly advertised. I was expecting one of the most brutal and revenge-fueled thrillers of the year but the unexpectedly slow direction and meticulous character building took me for a turn. Not to say that the choices Fennell made were bad by any means but this is just one of those typical cases of a film not really being what its marketing makes it out to be. I found Fennell's direction very slow and careful and while that could have been good for the characters or their motivations, a lot of this film started to feel empty. I was frankly a bit bored throughout this movie as Cassie begins her investigative revenge and the major plot points definitely take their time to be laid out. However, while I was preparing myself to be disappointed with this film, the third act and the accompanying last fifteen minutes or so were just exquisitely dark filmmaking. This film takes a twist that I could only dream screenwriters and directors had the gall to take every now and then and while I was initially scared of what was to happen to these characters, the ending plays out like clockwork. I loved the cathartic ending of this film and how beautifully Fennell wraps up this story in a powerful, little package.
The socially powerful message that this film carries would not have been executed nearly as well, however, if not for the performance from Carey Mulligan. She absolutely rocks this movie with all of her might and embodies the role of Cassie better than anyone I could ever believe. While I have almost always only seen Mulligan in supporting roles, she truly deserves more leading roles because if nothing else, Promising Young Woman is proof that she can handle that. The way that Mulligan gets into this role and personifies the trauma, distress, and desire for revenge that her character exhibits is just fascinating and she does so in such a subtly powerful way. Mulligan is undoubtedly the best part of this movie and she is able to hoist up the talent around her as well. Bo Burnham is fantastic in his supporting role and while I have been a fan of his comedy and directorial efforts for years, this role is one that I would have never seen him in. His role takes a turn for the type of character that he is playing and I loved seeing the transition in his acting. I don't really think I have ever seen Burnham in a narrative film role before but he takes his character of Ryan and runs with it in ways that I was compelled to keep watching. The technical elements of this film were solid too and while the cinematography was fairly decent, the editing from Frédéric Thoraval was spectacular. This movie is broken up into five different sections of Cassie's revenge plan and the way that they tie together in the end is just masterful. The title cards used throughout this movie to signify the different sections may seem corny at first but their existence is entirely justified by the film's end. I loved how Thoraval cut together this movie and even though no flashy techniques or tricks were ever used, he knows exactly when to linger and when to cut and so many scenes throughout this film are the epitome of perfect timing. While I am still a bit disappointed that this film was not as violent or purifying as I had believed, there is still a lot to love about it and Fennell undeniably crafts one of the most original stories of 2020.
Promising Young Woman is one of the year's best films and one that many (myself included) will be happy to know pretty much lives up to its dark promises. I have had in my head for months now what I thought this movie was going to be (I would still like to see this version) and even though it was not really anything like that, I still loved what I ended up getting. Mulligan and Fennell are an unstoppable force and I loved seeing them tell this story with such ferocity that could not have been done with anyone else. Unfortunately, I don't think this will emotionally reach as many people due to its release plan but its message is clear and told powerfully enough that it deserves to be heard by everyone.
My Rating: ★★★½
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