Promising Young Woman (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Promising Young Woman (2020) – E. Fennell

This is clearly a provocation but one that is absolutely grounded in reality. No one can deny that women’s maltreatment at the hands of men is a constant in human history and continues to this day. Fortunately, there appears to be a growing awareness of this problem and public resistance to its continuance.  (I’m talking not only of sexual assault but of a range of behaviours that perpetuate gender inequality). Emerald Fennell’s film is pitched as a very black comedy, although one would be forgiven for not finding any reason to laugh. I guess there might be spoilers below (but I won’t reveal the ending). Carey Mulligan plays Cassandra Thomas, who has taken on the role of “avenging angel” to seek revenge on men for the abuse of her best friend years earlier; she pretends to be drunk, gets picked up by men, and then confronts them to give them a scare. This is pitched as a reaction to trauma and seems accompanied by depression – her life is stalled, she’s dropped out of medical school, works at a coffee shop and still lives with her parents at age 30.  Yet some hope for Cassie seems possible when she meets Ryan (Bo Burnham), a funny and sensitive doctor (formerly in her med school class).  However, through him, she learns that her friend’s rapist has returned from England and is about to get married – this intensifies her quest for revenge on the specific perpetrator(s) of the outrage against her friend.  So, is it funny? The banter between Thomas and Burnham is witty and Fennell keeps things upbeat, particularly with the use of (extremely well selected) pop songs.  But there is no warding off the darkness here – and I’ve read that the current ending was originally omitted completely which would have sharpened the impact even more – you won’t be able to shake off the grim feeling that results.  Of course, if this sort of film can be a cause (and not just a consequence) of changing attitudes toward women, then we need more like this, no matter how difficult.