Promising Young Woman

Written and directed by Emerald Fennell

Rating: ⭐ better than a psl

Medical school dropout Cassie (Carey Mulligan) looks like your average failure from the outside. Dead end job, living with mom and dad, with no relationship or close friendships. But she has an interesting hobby that is consuming her life… At night Cassie pretends to be blackout drunk, and she trolls bars for “nice guys” that will help her out. What unfolds is a revenge thriller that will force you to examine every aspect of our toxic rape culture.

I was enthralled by this slow paced, quirky film from start to finish. Every aspect of this movie is carefully chosen to make the audience feel all of the feels. Uncomfortable, confused, angry, happy, hopeful, and everything in between, this movie encapsulates just how murky the waters are when it comes to our culture’s ass-backwards views on promising young women. Director Emerald Fennell succeeds in delivering a film that not only champions womxn on screen, but in every aspect off screen as well including a fire soundtrack featuring exclusively femxle artists.

While I loved this movie and hope that it sparks many more films like it, the area that it fell short for me was in character development. While you do get a glimpse into Cassie’s life, and a select few other characters as well, there were many characters like Cassie’s boss (played by the living icon LaVerne Cox) that left me wanting to know more about them. Overall, this did not ruin the experience for me. I took it as a tangible expression of how Cassie’s depression affects her life and how she lives it.

I imagine this film will be polarizing, as it isn’t the least bit apologetic in its messaging. But I think i’ts an important watch, and I hope it inspires more men to question what it really means to be a “nice guy”.

Written by Zianna Weston