"Promising Young Woman" Review: The Heavy Handed Gut Punch We Should

Writer/director/producer Emerald Fennell penned “Promising Young Woman” in 2017 during the height of the Me Too Movement. The film is quirky, a little rough around the edges, but focused like its heroine. Its heavy handed with lesson after lesson but it’s a gut punch that men and everyone else should take heed to.

Carey Mulligan is Cassandra Thomas, a med school dropout with a chip on her shoulder. We’re first introduced to her alone, seemingly drunk, and preyed on by a few men in a club. After being taken home by one of the men, she allows him to get far enough to see that he would take advantage of a young woman who, while drunk, clearly said no. She then makes it clear to him that she’s not drunk. We don’t really know what happens after, but that’s the set up for the film. 

We’re introduced to Cassandra’s world. She lives at home with her parents, works at a coffee shop, and keeps a running tab of the men she’s taught a lesson too in a small notebook. The sexual assault of her best friend in med school has radicalized her because while everyone seemed to move on from the incident, her brain has been seared by it. Cassandra uses Roman numerals to count each man she’s educated in her notebook and the film uses the Roman numeral theme to set up the various lessons she’ll teach to those who played a particular role in her past trauma over the course of it. 

This is a movie where you’re better suited going in with a blank slate. So that’s all I’ll state about its plot. However, this is a film that addresses the issues of the culture behind sexual assault allegations, the victims, the accused, and the community of people that cover it up. As Cassandra implements her plan we’re forced to think about her message as well. 

Mulligan really carries the film with her performance. There is a layering of her character that is noteworthy. You can see Cassandra’s brilliance, hard exterior, and wounded soul simultaneously in moments during the film. Alison Brie and Connie Britton also provide brief, but grounded performances as well. Unfortunately, the male actors in this film are mostly hollow, perhaps by design, serving as pieces that move the story forward. Many are portrayed as fragile when confronted by Cassandra, breaking down into scared little boys. Perhaps that’s Fennell’s intent? Yet it feels more like a subjective judgement of men, rather than allowing them to be three-dimensional. If it had been, the film as a whole would be elevated, rather than Mulligan elevating the film herself.

Regardless, Fennell’s points are direct and on target. The hypocrisy, double standards, and depravity of harassment and assault are on full display. Flaws aside, “Promising Young Woman” speaks for those who have and haven’t spoken their truth on the subject. While it is entertaining to watch, we should all listen to its message!

Rating: B

The Great Gatsby

​I didn’t read the book. (Although we all know films can’t quite compete with your imagination.) I saw the 1974 movie and couldn’t stand it. I saw this movie and realized that even with Baz Luhrmann’s stylistic visuals, and Jay-Z’s monopoly of the soundtrack, “The Great Gatsby” is really average. 

The film is about...wait you didn’t read the book, the cliffnotes, or see any of the two prior films before this one? (There is a third film but it was made in 1926 and there are no existing prints.) Alright, there’s an illusive man named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has built himself up from nothing to “something”. He really loves a married woman named Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). He buys a house across the lake from Daisy and her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton) in a grand plan to rekindle his lost love. Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is the narrator and liaison between his cousin Daisy and new neighbor, Jay Gatsby.  

With all the myths, rumors, and legends surrounding Gatsby, Nick can’t help but to want to get close to Gatsby. Gatsby throws wonderful, grandiose parties full of women, music, and booze. So when Nick receives a personal invitation from the legend, he feels special and is enamored himself. Gatsby eventually asks Nick to host a tea with his cousin Daisy so that they can meet. From there the film is a love triangle with familiar twists and turns from your favorite soap.

DiCaprio is the bright spot of the film. He plays the enigmatic Gatsby with charm. He’s able to flip back and forth between confidence and the lack thereof, and madly in love to plain mad with ease. Joel Edgerton does a great job as the pompous cheating husband.  The climatic showdown between him and DiCaprio is unsettling and a dramatic joy to watch. I had a conversation with co-workers prior to seeing the film about why I thought Carey Mulligan was a bad choice for Daisy. Could her face really launch a thousand ships? I know/knew she is one of the better actresses of this generation, but it didn’t sit right with me. I was wrong. The girl next door warmth made it understandable why Gatsby would love her. As for her cousin, he may have been the wrong call in casting, giving Nick Carraway a dopey portrayal. 

Luhrrman did a good job in keeping the dialogue moving, bringing the visuals of 1920‘s debauchery to screen, and an uncanny way of making beautiful things become scary with the flip of a musical note. Unfortunately, the movie as a whole has a slow start and a decent ending. It’s like a long train ride that when you finally get to your destination your more excited that it's over than the ok views you saw along the way.

Rating: C-