"Promising Young Woman" is a timely, if uneven directorial debut from Emerald Fennell that benefits greatly from Carey Mulligan's astounding performance
“Promising Young Woman” Film Review
84/100 “sweet”
By Quinn Marcus
There are some films that you just have a blast watching, and Promising Young Woman is no exception. In the first few weeks of 2021, I have already seen two exciting directorial debuts, one from Regina King, and now Emerald Fennell. I honestly didn’t know what to expect walking in, but this film grabs you by the throat in the very first scene and never lets go. This is by no means a perfect film, it took me a while to realize that after I finished watching it. The film is like a rollercoaster, except it ends just as you reach the tipping point, and not when you feel that the ride is over. So after I finished, I felt a lingering feeling, that feeling you get when you reach the top of a rollercoaster; it was because of this, that initially, I considered this a near-masterpiece. I could have had this review in by last week when I saw it, but I needed to think this one over. There’s a lot that I liked, but also some rookie mistakes I want to discuss as well.
Promising Young Woman tells the story of a young woman named Cassandra who suffers from a traumatic past. She now seeks revenge by going into bars, acting drunk, and waiting for a man to come to take her to his apartment, where Cassandra teaches them a lesson. However, everything changes when a man she once knew from college steps into her life, and she begins to construct a plan to eliminate the cause of her trauma once and for all.
I know what you’re thinking, this is not a light-hearted, fluffy film…and you’re right about that. Promising Young Woman deals with some heavy stuff, but it also manages to incorporate comedy into the mix which really worked for me. In regards to issues I had with the film, the screenplay is very messy. The film suffers from feeling very choppy, scenes just occur, sure they’re entertaining, but they don’t form one big story. It’s really just a series of great scenes, strung together by the thinnest thread imaginable. Also, Promising Young Woman tends to be tonally inconsistent, one scene is happy, and the next, absolutely insane and angry. Our lead character, Cassandra is a very unpredictable human being, but she has a purpose you can latch onto. My one issue with her character is that she makes certain choices that don’t make sense. I won’t spoil anything, but her decisions didn’t always agree with me. The end of this film won’t be for everyone, I personally loved that it took a risk, but the finale’s gonna make or break the film for you. You’ll either love it like me or hate it, which I can understand too. It’s a tough movie to get through, mostly because it deals with such big issues, but I believe it handled everything extraordinarily well, considering how terrible it could have been.
Alright, time for the positives. The cinematography done by Benjamin Kracun was a feast for the eyes with every frame. There was so much color, that the film almost looks like candy (in a good way). Everything popped from the screen, from the clothing to the set design, it really added to the playful vibe the movie provides. The directing for the most part was excellent, scenes were handled with a certain level of intensity that triumphs over some of the best directors working today. There were times when I couldn’t blink, couldn’t move, afraid I would miss something. A good example of this is when Cassandra meets with Dean Walker in a school, and Cassandra proceeds to talk about her abused sister that Walker doesn’t remember. Everything about this scene was riveting and perfect. Promising Young Woman is a film that every young woman should see; it’s an essential viewing that doesn’t take its views on the issue of rape lightly. It may be rusty around the edges, but at its core, Promising Young Woman is a relevant, timely ride for teens.
Carey Mulligan is this whole movie. I recently saw her in the Coen Bros. Inside Llewyn Davis, but this performance blows that away entirely. She is a magnificent actress who captures her character’s trauma and insanity with ease. I was truly shocked to see how far she took her performance, but it works, it really does work. Her co-star, Bo Burnham, writer/director of Eighth Grade was obviously overshadowed by Mulligan, but Burnham’s chemistry was spot on. They have a romance in the film that you really do care about, until something completely unexpected happens that shatters it. Supporting actors including Alison Brie were also given their time to shine, every cast member did a really solid job, but Carey Mulligan was really the driving force of the film.
The final verdict is…Promising Young Woman may have a rough script, but thanks to Carey Mulligan’s powerful performance, and assured directing by Emerald Fennell, this film is an absolute win…$PLURGE IT!