Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman is a 2020 black comedy thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell (in her feature directorial debut). The film stars Carey Mulligan as a vigilante seeking to avenge the death of her best friend who was a rape victim. It also features Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton in supporting roles. Promising Young Woman had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2020, by Focus Features.

Plot
Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be -- she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The cast performances are amazing, especially Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, and Alfred Molina. Mulligan’s performance garnered widespread critical acclaim and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
 * 2) Cassie is an amazing and compelling character with very understandable motives.
 * 3) *Much like John Wick's character. Both are examples of the quote “I’m not saying it’s right but I get it.” Cassie saying “what do you think every woman’s worst fear is?” has the same energy as John Wick’s “just a dog” line. Both had their trauma trivialized and now they’re fighting back.
 * 4) Amazing use of subtlety: Despite Nina's rape being one of the main plot points of the film, this is never shown to the viewer but rather it is deduced from the dialogues unlike many movies that would have shown it with numerous flashbacks. Also, not once in the movie was the word "rape" used. They managed to send a powerful message without even using the word.
 * 5) It doesn't trying to be too slow or too fast, but the pacing is perfectly-fast well done as well.
 * 6) Unlike the other black comedy movies, it did tone down its sex and nudity.
 * 7) Ryan (played by Bo Burnham) is a pretty interesting character and genuinely cares for Cassie, which makes him refreshing compared to other male characters and also makes his twist at the end feel so gut-wretching for the viewer.
 * 8) Emerald Fennell gives really funny and interesting direction. Yep, this is the way she did.
 * 9) Excellent musical score of Anthony Willis. It did fit the tone for the movie and its scenes.
 * 10) One really brilliant thing is how the movie seems to deliberately cast actors with sunny, likable images like Max Greenfield, Allison Brie, and Connie Britton as characters who are complicit in rape culture with the implied message that if these people can be part of it, anyone can.
 * 11) The writing and the dialogue is fantastic, clever and very well-done. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU SOCIOPATH?” is an iconic line.
 * 12) The ending, while sad, is pretty satisfying.

Reception
Promising Young Woman received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its screenplay, direction, and Mulligan's performance. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Promising Young Woman holds an approval rating of 90% based on 386 reviews, and an average rating of 8.10/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "A boldly provocative, timely thriller, Promising Young Woman is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell – and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 73% of those surveyed gave the film a positive score, with 43% saying they would definitely recommend it.