Like a twisted take on the vigilante sub-genre of the 1970s (think Billy Jack or Dirty Harry), writer/director Emerald Fennell turns a lens on modern society with her 2020 film Promising Young Woman – a most thought provoking tale for our time.
Following Cassandra (Carey Mulligan – an absolute powerhouse here which has earned her an Oscar nod), she is a woman in her early thirties who is stuck in time. With a tragic event from her past that has forever changed her present and future, the former medical school student now finds herself working a dead end job at a coffee shop for friend Gail (Laverne Cox).
Still living with her parents, Stanley (Clancy Brown) and Susan (Jennifer Coolidge), she has no friends or beau, instead focusing all of her extra time tracking subtle male nightclub predators and teaching them a never to be forgotten lesson.
Very much a story of duality. . . ferociously blunt yet cunningly subtle, unbelievably grim yet darkly comic, seemingly surreal yet utterly believable, its essence shares some sort of cosmic unity with 2019’s Joker, for that film was a comic book movie. . . but it really wasn’t, while this vigilante tale, in very many ways, doesn’t feel like that either. These juxtapositions perhaps most specifically relate to our main character. . . a popping southern belle-like woman – porting flowery patterns and a vibrantly attractive colour palette. . . yet she is not southern and is most definitely no belle (yet, this is, after all, what her past has made her). No true thrills are earned from her vigilante acts, instead, they are something she feels are needed. In reality, there is a part of her that yearns for a way out of her worthwhile yet unsustainable existence, but, at the same time, she truly doesn’t. Her mind is made up. . . her course set. . . her fate sealed. . . these last vestiges of her former life like an echo from the past that feels real, but is only a fleeting memory of a time prior to pain, sorrow, guilt, revenge and vengeance that consumes her days, and more importantly, nights.
That is, until she meets Ryan (Bo Burnham), a former acquaintance from her med school days. . . a doctor that she soon finds out has long had a crush on her. Perhaps an escape from her dangerous form of aberrant retribution, the problem is, he too brings vestiges from their past back with him. . . as he is still connected to many of his old school buddies. Could this be her way out, or just another avenue to bring her back to those long torturing memories?
A narrative that realizes that every character is of the utmost importance, Fennell surrounds her star with a plethora of fantastic performers. Look for Adam Brody, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Max Greenfield, Chris Lowell, and Alfred Molina to play small but pivotal roles. Each of these actors add nuance to their personas, developing the eerily grey area this magnifying lens of a film lives within. It is also worth noting Margot Robbie’s role of producer on this feature – another quality production choice.
Like one of Grimm’s fairytales warning its (in this case) viewers of the horrors of the real world in a vividly abstract way (look for stunning visuals to match this impressive story), Promising Young Woman is requisite watching. . . and it should be painful to look at. Utterly visceral, it is the type of thought provoking movie that will likely stick with you for quite some time – so impressive when considering this is Fennell’s film debut (she has also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. . . just for your information, she also makes a cameo in the film as the “blowjob lips” youtuber). A final note – listen for Anthony Willis’ epic score. . . a composition that at times weaves in pop songs from a few decades back (for instance, Britney Spears’ “Toxic” – a nice touch that relates us to this tortured tale of a thirty year old woman). So, avoid your comeuppance by seeing this worthwhile venture, you’ve now officially read it in text form.