Carey Mulligan as Cassandra Thomas in Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. Photo courtesy of Focus Features.
PII’s Promising Young Woman review paints Emerald Fennell’s brazen directorial as a campy yet scintillatingly delicious cotton candy revenge fantasy. A little mashup of Elle Woods and M.F.A. (2017).
Cassandra Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is a medical school dropout still living at home with her parents in their very niche interior decorating theme. Cassandra disassociates from her reality to help cope with the weighty grief over her best friend’s, Nina, suicide.
Viewers will begin to squirm; Fennell’s explosive new film takes a direct shot at the male entitlement in this patriarchal world with one uncomfortable question. Is a man’s potential genuinely worth more than the security of a woman’s well-being? History sure agrees (look at the material— here, here, and HERE).
Within the first ten minutes, we see how casual misogyny slithers into a conversation of three “different” male friends. The trio whine about not being able to go to a strip club because of a female co-worker and how if she “worked hard like them,” she wouldn’t complain about her pay rate. The discussion continues, but none of the men calls out the other for their sexist cursory. After all, it’s not the woman’s job to educate (much less remind) men that we’re humans too.
Without delay, this is where the film breaks down men’s offhand candor; when the trio eyes Cassandra. Instantly hypnotized by her drunken state, the men comment, “[they] put themselves in danger, girls like that.” Meanwhile, Cassandra’s looking sloppy and slinking to the side, looking for her phone. The men feign concern, at first.
Now, this is where things get dark and twisty, at least for the men involved. Internally radicalized, Cassandra turns the men’s tables when they decide to get frisky after clearly saying no while seemingly delirious. She quite literally switches, and the men realize that she’s not only sober, but she said no. However, it’s too late; Cassandra’s now there for a purpose. She confronts and renders these men useless until their shameful admittance.
Cassandra carries herself with bolstering confidence, brutal honesty, and deadpan delivery that men will be confused and question if women like this exist. Except this isn’t our typical [Content Warning] rape and revenge film.
Promising Young Woman centers around the long-term rippling effects of prematurely dismissing sexual assault. The film focuses on the harsh reality of mishandling and dismissing cases for the sake of the predator’s entitled, not yet existent, prosperous future. Influential lawyers and defense teams work overtime to discredit women with a single misconstrued image on our social media. These men aren’t labeled as predators as they should; instead, the accused men eventually and quietly move on. These men are charged but not socially branded like most women.
Alternatively, what about the survivors? Sexual assault can happen to anyone, not just persons who identify as women. The survivor’s tragedy is every day— sadly, it even consumes them.
Similarly, Cassandra’s pain and guilt are all around her as Nina’s passing takes new meaning to her. Bewildering her parents, they don’t know what she’s doing with her life as she willingly works in a local coffee shop alongside her boss Gail (Laverne Cox), by day. Gail also doesn’t understand why Cassandra chooses to work there dealing with spoiled customers. By night, Cassandra’s an astute vigilante performing a secret social experiment.
Of course, Cassandra’s plan is no different than the social experiments men do to deceive women (She’s All That and Deliver Us From Eva). Cassandra’s plot for revenge goes after everyone with a hand in allowing such entitlement, including so-called “nice guys.”
We know those nice guys, predatory to those on the verge of being “blackout drunk,” but still coherent enough. Hence, their conscience is clean— yet gaslight and manipulate by claiming to “take care of us.”
Viewers see Cassandra’s motivation at play, the unravelment of a woman who no longer cares what men think or want.
It’s almost as pleasing as Fennell’s witty casting of several beloved tv boyfriends we adore. Seeing Adam Brody, Max Greenfield, and Chris Lowell cleverly appear. Also, there’s Cassandra’s love interest Ryan (Bo Burnham). Ryan charms us and Cassie as the pediatric-surgeon who sings along to Paris Hilton’s the twinkling Stars are Blind.
While the bright production design is sugary and seductive, it’s paired with Cassandra’s dagger-like ability to eviscerate her target verbally; it’s magnetic. The best thing is the target doesn’t know when Cassandra’s octave will get lower, Mulligan’s voice sinks, and her face is acutely reactive. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch as well as stylistically pleasing.
Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman is deadly sweet, and Carey Mulligan’s razor-sharp take on Cassandra truly gives the best performance of her career.
Emerald Fennell nails the film’s point, which’s igniting a much-needed conversation. However, we do have some further thoughts on our technical script critiques. So we must add— before continuing, this is your SPOILER WARNING.
Ultimately, the film might not be as groundbreaking as Fennel thinks. At the same time, it’s fantastical and close to perfection; my critique is a technical story issue.
Humanization doesn’t come until the post-mortem of the, now, two victims. A surprise in the Kinder egg by act three will gut you because, sadly, Cassandra doesn’t survive.
This narrative decision also let the enabling women off with surface scratches, albeit somewhat of a core rumbling. Yet solely going after the men is predictable; the clock’s ticking on women with internalized misogyny that knowingly help predatory men.
Additionally, Laverne Cox’s underplayed as a supportive boss and friend. Imagine the tag team possibility of Laverne Cox AND Carey Mulligan, talk about power. Alas, another gorgeous and supportive Woman of Color sidekick.
Overall, Promising Young Woman delivers a dynamite punch with Carey Mulligan’s knockout performance; the film debuts on December 25th, 2020, via Focus Features.
