166. Promising Young Woman; movie review

 

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Cert 15

113 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence, violence, drug misuse, language, sex references

First things first - Carey Mulligan was a superb choice to have played the lead role in Promising Young Woman.

There has been a long debate which even included whether she was attractive enough.

Well, firstly, she is but, secondly, she plays Cassie with the intelligence and strength which the part demands.

Cassie has gone through post-traumatic stress after the death of her best friend at medical college.

Her pal, Nina, was sexually abused by a group of young men when she was very drunk. It is never said how she died but it is implicit that she did not recover from the experience.

And neither did Cassie whose promising career was left in tatters after she withdrew from college and now struggles to hold down a menial job or have relationships with friends or family.

Her entire focus is centred on revenge and she does that by going to clubs, pretending she is legless and then taking retribution when men try to take sexual advantage.

She marks off each instance as if going through a catharsis but there is a sense that any satisfaction has long since dispersed.

It appears that she is unable to move on from her friend's tragedy and her belief that it was precipitated by a crime.

However, there is a spark in the shape of a former course colleague (Bo Burnham) - a rare nice guy who wants to date Cassie but is willing to take it slow, even when she tests him.

Director and writer Emerald Fennell has already given enough clues that this will not be a straightforward distraction but takes the audience in completely unexpected directions.

The combination of Fennell's script and Mulligan's expert execution has earned Promising Young Woman deserved Oscar nominations.

On top of that, it has encouraged debate surrounding men taking advantage of drunk women.

It makes me think of those many nights when we have come out of the cinema to see young people wearing next to nothing while falling about city-centre streets.

When I see them I fear terrible lapses of judgment from both genders are bound to follow.

However, as Fennell's movie makes clear - drunkenness and a short skirt is not the equivalent of consent.

Promising Young Woman is not only an original and clever thriller but its moral message is incredibly important.

Reasons to watch: Original, clever thriller

Reasons to avoid: Maybe a little bit too smart

Laughs: None

Jumps: One

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? The film's title is a reference to Brock Turner, a Stanford University student who was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. Despite his conviction, he was referred to by some as a "Promising Young Man."

The final word. Emerald Fennell: "“I wanted to write a movie that reflected this thing that we all grew up with, which was that getting girls drunk in order to ‘seduce them’ – seduce in inverted commas – was kind of normal. It was in every comedy and girls’ bodies were something to be won, almost by any means necessary. " Vogue

 

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