Promising Young Woman
D: Emerald Fennell
Focus Features / FilmNation / LuckyChap (Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley, Ben Browning, Ashley Fox & Emerald Fennell)
US/UK 🇺🇸🇬🇧 2020
113 mins
Drama/Comedy/Thriller
W: Emerald Fennell
DP: Benjamin Kračun
Ed: Frédéric Thoraval
Mus: Anthony Willis
Carey Mulligan (Cassie Thomas), Bo Burnham (Ryan Cooper), Alison Brie (Madison McPhee), Clancy Brown (Stanley Thomas), Jennifer Coolidge (Susan Thomas), Laverne Cox (Gail)
*SPOILER WARNING*
Carey Mulligan relishes the chance to steal the show in this wicked black comedy about female empowerment and revenge.
Mulligan stars as Cassie Thomas, the promising young woman of the title, who works in a coffee shop by day and prowls the night looking for morally dubious men who need to be taught a lesson.
It emerges that Cassie’s behaviour is a result of an incident involving her best friend while they both practiced at medical school, which resulted in her best friend’s death and leaving Cassie psychologically and emotionally scarred.
Cassie does find some solace in a relationship with an old friend, but soon reverts to her previous behaviour for an ultimate show of revenge.
The story serves up a lot of thought-provoking themes, and Mulligan is especially good in the central role, but there is a bit of tonal shift towards the end of the middle act that continues into the third act that will either make-or-break the viewing experience.
The film does make some interesting points, but also paints the world as a particularly bitter place and could have done with a few more redeeming characters to balance this out. Nevertheless, it’s a film that will linger long in the memory and is a very impressive debut from writer-director Emerald Fennell.
8/10
