Movie Breakdown: Promising Young Woman (Noah)

Pre-Screening Stance:

Oh man, from the candy coated promotional material to the dark bend of Britney Spear’s Toxic in the trailer to seeing Carey Mulligan in full-on revenge mode makes me want to see this movie.

Post-Screening Ramble:

Promising Young Woman has all the bones of a great first movie. Emerald Fennell – a showrunner on Killing Eve in its only good season – takes a decidedly sensitive subject matter (date rape) and wraps it around a visually stunning, sharp-toothed, slowly unfolding revenge film. Carey Mulligan’s plays Cassie – the revenge dealing main character – an entirely inverted, all-too honest survivor who cares nothing about family or friends or people – she just wants to pay back the men of the world and boy does she have a plan. The plan, as they do, is complicated when she meets a man from her past. It is an understated gem of a performance by Mulligan. Low-key and rife with anti-hero charm, you root for Mulligan from minute one – both to fix her life and to get the revenge she seeks. So, great concept, great visuals, amazing performance by Mulligan – but the film still feels empty. Fennell hints at the world outside of her main character’s purview, but she never digs deep enough to give it much texture. And part of me thinks this is a young director choosing visual panache over depth. Another part of me though thinks Fennell’s choice to limit access to the characters inner workings is intentional, that she wants the world to live on the edge of Cassie’s thoughts, pushed to the edges by her single-minded obsession. Either way, it is a strong debut and I look forward to whatever she does next.

One Last Thought:

I was shocked at how charming Bo Burnham was in the film. Mulligan and him have such believable chemistry that I’d watch the alternate reality rom-com with these two characters.

Another Last Thought:

Christopher Mintz-Plasse is creepily good as a potential date-raper. And I think it’s nice that he’s found his niche.