Cassie’s response is poignant, speaking volumes about the misogynistic culture in academia and beyond–“Can you guess what every woman’s worst nightmare is?” Fennell’s feature directorial debut is a transgressive male-comeuppance power fantasy–and emotional roller coaster!–as Mulligan’s barista-by-day prowls for would-be date rapists at night, ready to teach them a lesson they won’t soon forget. Still traumatized by her friend’s suicide years after the assault, Cassie drops out of medical school and proceeds with only one goal in life: to dismantle a broken system, one bastard at a time.
The Herculean task of visually transforming Mulligan into the various versions of Cassie–for a quick shoot on a small budget–fell on Emmy-nominated Makeup Department Head Angie Wells (
Promising Young Woman review: The film, starring Carey Mulligan, is revenge-movie dynamite
• 5 min read
Cast of ‘One Night in Miami.’ talks about new film
Oscar winner Regina King makes her directorial debut in the film, which is inspired by the night Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali spent together.Merie Weismiller Wallace/Focus Features
Since Carey Mulligan just won the coveted best actress prize from the Los Angeles Film Critics, you ll want to check out what this exceptional British talent is up to in Promising Young Woman, now in theaters and on demand. Early on in this diabolically funny takedown of toxic masculinity, an alleged nice guy tells a tipsy young woman that they ve made a real connection. She laughs in his face since he s been too busy trying to get her into bed to learn a thing about her.
Promising Young Woman Movie Review
By
Director: Emerald Fennell
Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 12/5/20
Opens: December 25, 2020
If your cable TV viewing is restricted to the output of the NFL you may not see how Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” should remind moviegoers of a real-life drama involving Mr. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, sworn into the highest judicial office in the land despite some credible evidence accusing him of immoral behavior. Just over two years ago, Blasey Ford, a psychology professor, accused Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. Allegedly, a 15-year-old woman was physically restrained by the 17-year-old Kavanaugh, who tried to pull off her clothes and covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream. She escaped. During the Senate hearings, Republicans criticized Blasey Ford for bringing up the accusation so many years later. She may have been secretly believed by some of Kavanaugh’s supporters,