Review: Promising Young Woman, Nominated For FIVE Oscars

Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture; Promising Young Woman looks to be one of the favorites at the 2021 Academy Awards.

The Plot

We start ‘Promising Young Woman’ with three drunk businessmen in a bar; two of whom are drunker than the third.  The three complain about work, women, and the society in which we live.  None of the conversation is what would be considered appropriate in mixed company.

Across the bar, they spot a woman who appears to have had too many drinks.  The least drunk of the three; Jerry, played by Adam Brody, crosses the bar.

Jerry offers to help the woman get home safely, and even suggests sharing a ride.  On the way, he invites her back to his nearby apartment.  Jerry asks the driver to go directly there, but the apprehensive driver insists they change the address in the Rideshare App.

Next, Jerry starts to escalate, even as the woman starts to pass out.  The woman’s speech is clearly slurred, and she asks, “What are you doing?”  She repeats the question.  Then, she sits up, looks the camera straight into the lens, and quite soberly asks, “What are you doing?”

Carey Mulligan stars as Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Thompson, a massively over-qualified coffee shop employee, still living with her parents.  As Cassie walks home at dawn, blood trickles down her hand.  Construction workers catcall her from across the street.  Cassie stops, stares them straight in the eye, and lets awkward silence fill the air.  What had been a ‘Walk of Shame’, now struts a ‘Walk of Victory.’

Finally at home, Cassie pulls out a notebook.  Inside are dozens of names and tick marks, some in black, some in red.  Clearly, Cassie has been at this for quite a while.

The Good – Promising Young Woman

Emerald Fennell, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, builds out Cassie’s world.  Breakfast with her concerned parents, a present for her 30th Birthday which Cassie completely forgot, and questions about why she dropped out of Medical School fill out her backstory. 

We visit Cassie’s job at the coffee shop, meet her boss, Gina, played by Laverne Cox, and a long lost classmate from Medical School.  Ryan, played by Bo Burnham, isn’t there by accident.  Ryan asks Cassie on a date, and a much more human Cassie cautiously accepts.

One reveal leads to the next, which leads to the next.  Fennell and Mulligan methodically construct Cassie’s reality.  After an awkward end to their first date, Cassie asks out Ryan for a second date.  A getting-to-know-you conversation reveals a Medical School classmate is getting married.  Cassie’s reaction to the name ‘Al Monroe’ leads to cyber stalking and glancing at childhood pictures of her friend, Nina.

A predatory lunch date with an old classmate; kidnapping a college student, then torturing her Mother for an apology; we implicitly see the extremes to which Cassie will go to dole out her brand of justice.  Cassie’s vengeance over Nina’s death seemingly has no bounds. 

Carey Mulligan’s Best Actress nomination hardly surprises given the dynamic range we see between the strength of Cassie as she stalks her prey, and the vulnerability of Cassie as she goes on a date.  We even see Cassie exercise clemency, stopping a hitman from hurting a remorseful lawyer.

As Cassie’s relationship with Ryan blossoms, her need to hunt her prey gets tested.  She blows off a date with Ryan, finds her next victim, and runs into Ryan as she’s leaving with her victim.  Which priority matters more; potential happiness, or more reprisal?

The Bad

If you’ve already seen the trailer for Promising Young Woman, you pretty much know where the whole story goes.  This is not an indictment of a trailer giving away too much information.  This is a highly predictable story, being told in a highly skillful way, that won’t bore the viewer who already knows what’s coming.

While the ‘Why’ of the story is drilled home repeatedly from beginning to end, as are the ‘Who’ and the ‘When’; the ‘How (far)’ is conveniently absent from the story.  We see the full breath of Cassie’s emotional and intellectual manipulation towards her victims, but we never see how physically violent she gets.  In spite of all her threats, we don’t see how far she actually takes it.  

We see blood dripping off her hands, we see her tools of torture, and we see her notebook with dozens of names as a kind of trophy; but we don’t see how far her psychopathy goes.  Is Cassie a murderer?  Does she simply carve Nina’s name into her victims, and that’s it?  Or, is Cassie a self-righteous Serial Killer on par with Dexter Morgan (from the Showtime series ‘Dexter’)?

This un-answered question is important.  Leaving the actual violence out of the movie very much makes the reality of Cassie’s actions ‘out of sight, out of mind’.  We don’t see the violence, so we don’t have to focus on the violence.  Instead, we can focus solely on her cause, without knowing the consequences.  In essence, Cassie takes no responsibility for her actions, while seeking her brand of justice from others.

The Review – Promising Young Woman

Director Emerald Fennell tells an expertly crafted narrative from a highly focused world view.  The story balances well through all three Acts, without leaving too many loose ends or wasting screen time.

One could argue the lack of on screen violence reflects the selective lens through which Cassie views the world.  But, Cassie does not appear un-aware of her actions.  She may be conflicted, but she is in control.

The Cinematography styles the film very deliberately.  Perfectly framed shots, slow zooms on longer takes, and fisheye lenses framed front and center; all give the feeling of order and control throughout the film.  We see Cassie’s control and issues with control.  All are ordered, yet belie Cassie’s inner discomfort and unease.

Carey Mulligan gives a powerful and nuanced performance as Cassie worthy of her nomination.  But, the lack of onscreen violence robs her character of it’s moral imperative.  We don’t know the depth of her actions on her crusade for justice for Nina.  Without knowing the sacrifices to her humanity, we don’t know the true cost of her conviction.

This seems a conscious choice by the Director to keep the focus on the mission.  However, the implied costs distract, rather than focus.  This reviewer can not fully relate to the main character’s path, without seeing a transparent reality of her journey.  

Overall, a solid film.  Would not be surprised to see multiple gold statues awarded to Promising Young Woman on April 25th.

Additional Information

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620292

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