Promising Young Woman

The subject matter is still sadly something that still needs to be taken seriously in today's society. Needs to be shown especially to college & high school students. Carrie did such a great job, I've never seen her play anything similar to this.

This movie blew me away. I went through basically the entire range of emotions before the movie was even over. It hit on everything that's made me so angry for such a long time. It was a vessel of that rage and it felt so good to see it depicted. More than that though, it felt like a story about the deep love we have for our friends. The message was amazing in my opinion.....and the ending was perfect!

At first I wasn't quite sure where this movie was going, even after reading the plot line on IMDB. There were so many directions this could have gone from the exaggerated cartoon like portrayal to the mundane, but if you got the feeling the lack of predictability was going to be what kept you around, you'd have been right.

First off, Carrie Mulligan has become one of those actors that doesn't seem to do bad movies, so when you see she's in a film, you count on it being good. She is a tour de force in this film. From start to finish, she displays such human qualities on an almost unconsciously precise level. You can see her as a caring person, loving person and hurt person, but also as a sociopath and someone so dangerously close to the edge you're not entirely confident she won't or hasn't already gone over it or how far she'll end up going if she does.

That's the beauty of this film, is it keeps you guessing. It's not impossible to see some of the twists it takes, you will likely say once or twice that you saw whatever happens coming, but that's much like life itself, no one existence is totally unpredictable or predictable. This is also what makes this so good as well, the relatability of something most viewers have never been through. This movie tells the story without giving away the entire story until it's time for the viewer to know, a very powerful tool. Warning, there are some fairly graphic parts, some drawn out parts of the gruesome details of the story, but they appear at the climax of the story and serve to punctuate a point rather than try and glorify something grotesque.

There were a couple of small things that did suffer from some exaggeration. The boss at the coffee shop interrogating the boyfriend was a bit overdone, as was the conversation between Casie and Madison (the second one), but with the coffee shop boss you would assume it's because they care and the Madison conversation because they just want to move on from it. Either way, small details in an otherwise great movie.

A good cast of characters playing a wide display of not so great people in an amazing movie. For some reason I also enjoyed it being set in Ohio. Made it seem more human. The way it was filmed focused very heavily on the story, rather than the background, but having Ohio as the backdrop deglamorized it and made it human.

Great flick. Check it out.

"I'm a nice guy." "Are you?"

Carrie Mulligan is, as always, fantastic, and I love how 'Promising Young Woman' mixed in some elements of comedy and even romance into what was such a searing indictment of rape culture. For a film making such a strong statement, it's layered and intelligent, bringing out emotional aspects not usually present in revenge-type films. Instead of indulging in the bloodlust of a killing spree, it has her character trying to make others feel something - what it's like to be deceived, frightened, vulnerable, exploited, humiliated, or scarred for life.

The film goes after not just the bros who believe themselves to be nice guys and offer pathetic excuses for their behavior, but also the power structure protecting them, and it does so in a stylish way (that soundtrack!). The conversation with the dean of the medical school who looked the other way because she didn't want to """ruin a young man's life""" was particularly devastating, and yet isn't that what happens all the time? The film plays out in unexpected ways which is a part of its strength, and I was impressed that it threaded the needle between being depressing and uplifting. It felt emblematic of the era, and powerful.

Many of the modern vengeance films are brutal and gory; many boasts incredible fight sequences and stunts. 'Promising Young Woman' has neither of these traits. In fact, this is such a different vengeance movie, it is refreshingly original. I suppose in a way once could refer to it as psychological vengeance.

Carey Mulligan delivers a fantastic performance as Cassandra, the titular Promising Young Woman. Every week she goes to a club and pretend to be too drunk to stand. Every time a 'nice guy' picks her up, and is ready to take advantage of a drunk woman. Then, at the most awkward moment, these 'nice guys' then find out the girl is not drunk - and she rightfully puts them in their place. The film also serves as a warning to guys who take advantage of drunk women. (Hell, are straight guys really such douce bags???)

Seven years ago, Cassandra and her best friend Nina dropped out of med school after a tragic incident. She now works in a coffee shop whilst planning her revenge on the perpetrators. The film takes its time telling us exactly what happened to Nina, and I found this very effective. I enjoyed this mystery element. The entire time I was aware something terrible happened but didn't know what until it was revealed. I rather liked this approach.

The love interest comes in the form of pediatrician Ryan (Bo Burnham), who went to med school with Cassandra. Its not your average romance story, and I enjoyed this approach, too. 'Promising Young Woman' is not really a fast-paced movie, but its not slow either - and I was captivated all the way.

There are many twists and turns and events I never saw coming. The film does not have the ending I was hoping for, but I'm not going to do spoilers. Let's just say this is a very good and very realistic vengeance movie with a great script, and it most certainly is unpredictable! I do believe women will relate more to the film than men, but either way, this was an entertaining watch. The film also highlighted issues that might make you ponder on afterwards.