The film follows protagonist Cassandra (Carrey Mulligan), a highflying med-school student who dropped out when her friend was sexually abused at a party in front of a thoughtless audience. The film finds her working in a coffee shop and living at home with her parents. During the night she goes out to clubs pretending to be drunk. Inevitably, men try to sexually engage her, but before anything goes too far, she reveals she is still sober, exposing their manipulative behaviour.
At first, it’s not obvious why Cassandra is the way she is because we are unaware of the sexual violence committed against her friend. However, once the story of sexual violence is revealed, Cassandra’s psychology becomes very concrete. This emotional trauma acts as clear decipherable motivation, so for some this will make the character less interesting, for others the clarity will make it easier to invest in Cassandra.