Promising Young Woman (2020)

The first time I had a full concept of what sexual assault was for my generation it involved being told by a friend that it happened to them.  The concept bothered me beyond belief but I was too young to understand the gravity of the event at the time.  Years later I myself would be assaulted by my first girlfriend ever out of college.  Much like my friend it shaped how I saw and responded to others.  I was on my guard for any female that wanted to deeply emotionally connect.  I mention all of this because in Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut Promising Young Woman she addresses date rape in all its many nuances and how a tragic event like that can break someone fully.

Cassie Thomas is dealing with the aftermath of her friend being assaulted at a party.  The way she chooses to move forward is by going out to the bar and making herself a target every single night. The reason behind this is she’s hoping some “nice guy” is going to pick her up and take her home and try to take advantage which will give her the opportunity to school him and why what she did was not OK.  That is her mission. She wants to stop toxic masculinity and assault one man at a time.

To say that this concept is innovative is not giving the writer enough credit.  Toxic masculinity permeates through our culture like a bad smell.  We all sense it when somebody is being manipulated or coached to do something you know they’re uncomfortable with however nobody does anything to stop it because they rationalize its not their place to step in but people can and they should step in and speak up.  Cassie is an unusual anti-hero because she is a sociopath.  She is on a mission to civilize and will stop at nothing to get justice for her best friend and ex college classmate Nina Fisher.  While this is definitely a noble pursuit, is it the cost of her own life because it is her sole focus.

I’ve always loved Carey Mulligan from the time I saw her in Doctor Who as Sally Sparrow when she was 22 to her breakout role in 2009 in An Education.  She has always been an immense talent but her performance as Cassie may just be the most dizzying tight rope walk I’ve seen an actress pull in some time.  Mulligan has to be vindictive and toxic toward her targets, lifeless and numb with her family, emotional when confronting memories of Nina, and finally vulnerable when falling in love.  Some of the range I defined has to all be exhibited by the actor in the same scene.  In short, Mulligan’s performance is nothing short of masterful.

The other breakout of this film is Bo Burnham.  While Burnham is traditionally known for his talents as a stand up comedian and an acclaimed director, his work here as Ryan, a pediatric surgeon, is genuine with care for Cassie but takes most of the film’s runtime to believe his intentions are genuine.  I would argue they have one of only happy scenes in the film.  The only tease I will give is that I never expected to like Paris Hilton so much.

Emerald Fennell wrote and directed this film with so much style.  From the opening tracking shot after the club scene to the cinematography and shadows in the scene where Cassie is looking at old photos of herself and Nina.  The whole movie is all at once colorful and dead inside just like its antagonist.

Promising Young Woman is a film that shook me to my core and as such I won’t forget it for years.  Fennell through her excellent storytelling and camera work shows both genders where they need to do better in how they treat each other.  I’m grateful for the experience as difficult as it was and I think all audiences could use an education from Cassie.