I’ve been a fan of revenge books and movies since I read Brian Garfield’s novel Death Wish in 1972 and saw the Charles Bronson movie of the same name from 1974. Bronson decides to seek revenge on criminals after his family is attacked.
Carey Mulligan plays Cassie Thomas, a 30-year-old medical school dropout who works in a coffee shop and lives with her parents. Cassie dropped out of med school after her best friend, Nina, was gang raped by fellow students. The crime was reported, but nothing was done.
Cassie now goes to bars and pretends she’s drunk. Men take Cassie home and try to have sex with her, but Cassie confronts them and ruins their plans.
Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed Promising Young Woman, puts Cassie in danger. She makes risky decisions. But, when Cassie learns the truth about her boyfriend, and comes into possession of a key bit of evidence about the rape, she goes into full revenge mode. Promising Young Woman is a powerful movie that stay with you days after you’ve watched it. GRADE: B+
One of my favorites of last year.
Steve, Carey Mulligan’s performance knocked me out!
Yeah, we were very impressed with it too. I mostly know Fennell from her stint as a closeted lesbian midwife in the ’60s in CALL THE MIDWIFE. She and Mulligan did a terrific job with this.
Jeff, I’m hoping for more Fennell/Mulligan movies!
I was troubled by how hard she was on the Med School Dean compared to just lecturing the potential rapists. A small thing, but it stuck with me. And I found the tone of the scenes with her family at home seemed like they belonged in another movie. Black comedies are tough to pull off but she did a reasonably good job.
Patti, I assumed the confrontation with the Med School Dean was there to show the institution protected rapists. I suspect Carrie’s mother and father represented how far from Normalcy Carrie had drifted.
I can’t imagine why I’d want to spend a couple hours watching it. But then, I’m not a movie-goer.
Rick, Carey Mulligan’s performance would wow you!