'Promising Young Woman' review: A unique revenge cocktail (Sundance)
Photo courtesy of Focus Features
One of the highlights at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was “Promising Young Woman”, a movie so dark and fierce that it left audiences buzzing long after its world premiere. Some didn’t know what to make of it and others cheered for its fiery female protagonist, but everyone who saw it could agree that they witnessed something special.
The film begins with a bang as we meet Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a seemingly young professional who has had too much to drink at a local bar. Slurring her words and barely able to walk she catches the attention of a male patron who calmly says that everything is fine and he’ll make sure she gets home safely. He assures her he’s one of the good guys, but all signs seem to point to the opposite being true. The resulting sense of dread quickly turns to relief and even joy as we realize that Cassie is far from intoxicated and has more devious plans for our would-be abuser in mind. This all happens within the first few minutes of “Promising Young Woman” and is the basic setup you need to know, revealing any more would be cruel and spoil the film’s surprises.
This first layer is a clever entry into writer-director Emerald Fennell’s cat-and-mouse game between Cassie and unsuspecting assailants, but this isn’t a female-driven revenge tale a la “Death Wish”. The film does deal with payback, both physical and emotional, but the stakes are much higher than your average genre film. The motives behind Cassie’s twisted role-playing and eventual conclusion hinge on themes of violence and abuse that are extremely relevant in the #MeToo era. This becomes apparent when Fennell’s script pulls back to reveal Cassie’s home life, and all we see is a person who is more comfortable living in her revenge fantasy world than existing in the real one. A chance encounter with an old classmate from med school (Bo Burnham) even gives Cassie a real shot at a happy ending, but we can tell from the look on her face that this prospect is too much for her to handle. There’s real damage in her past and getting beyond that will mean facing some demons that she may not want or be ready to confront.
Emerald Fennell is best known as one of the showrunners of TV’s “Killing Eve”, another example of empowerment through the lens of love and violence. In “Promising Young Woman” she takes things up a notch with a controversial climax that will work for cynical and hard-boiled moviegoers and frustrate everyone else. But as the damaged Cassie, actress Carey Mulligan gives the role every ferocious bite of life it demands. The physical and mental state of her performance remind us why she’s one of the greatest actresses of her generation, and, with the right amount of care, could also garner an Oscar nomination. She’s that good in “Promising Young Woman”, and those brave enough to endure the tough ride are sure to agree.
Rating: A-
“Promising Young Woman” will be released in 2020.
