By Emma Smith, Assistant Editor

If Promising Young Woman could be summed up in one word, that word would be “unflinching.” This is not a wish-fulfillment rape-revenge fantasy. This is a film that explores all the ways our society fails young women when it comes to rape and sexual assault. To a lesser extent, it is also about how we fail young men. It opens with a bar scene that perfectly highlights the difference between how women and men are treated when it comes to sex, and it never once lets up for the next two hours.

Surely we can all agree that Carey Mulligan (Cassandra Thomas) is an acting genius. She is true to form in this movie, delivering her lines with a dry wit while hinting at the emotional turmoil right under Cassandra’s surface. The supporting characters with the most amount of screen time are played by Bo Burham (Ryan) and Laverne Cox (Gail). Laverne Cox adds some much-needed levity to this very black comedy. Bo Burnham does an excellent job threading the needle of a character that you want to like, despite knowing it is probably not a good idea. 

Finally, I hope that Emerald Fennell makes many more films.* While I expected nothing less of the Killing Eve showrunner, she came to this movie with a strong viewpoint, an excellently crafted story, and impressive attention to detail. Promising Young Woman is a great film and well worth your time. It is, however, a challenging film. Come willing to think.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Promising Young Woman 5 out of 5 khakis. 

*Side note: How awesome of a showbiz name is Emerald Fennell. And it’s not even a screen name!