In a year when cinema itself seemed greatly compromised, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman was one of the most provocative films of 2020. In an unforgettable Oscar-nominated performance, the film sees Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a young woman who takes the words “justice” and “revenge” to a whole new level, while seeking to avenge her late friend, Nina. Yet audiences should make no mistake - Promising Young Woman couldn’t be further from your by-the-book, sugarcoated revenge drama that it might appear to be on paper. Rather, Fennell’s brash and ingenious portrait of survivorhood, gender politics, and the lingering nature of sexual trauma make the film one of the most important of the decade.
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Although Promising Young Woman was lauded as one of the year’s finest by critics, with a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, to this day the film continues to remain mired in controversy and public dispute. Some take issue with how the film tackles its pertinent themes, and what sort of message it sends. A reviewer for the Harvard Crimson claimed it “sets up violence as the only true catharsis,” granting Cassie nor Nina the appropriate means to process their trauma. Others argue that the film could be interpreted as disempowering to real survivors of sexual assault, due to its choice of highlighting Cassie’s story instead of Nina’s.
Of course, there is no “correct” interpretation of the film, and the criticisms leveled against it are all equally valid and worthy of discussion. But perhaps this was part of Fennell’s agenda in the first place - regardless of what you think of it, Promising Young Woman is the revenge thriller that has us talking. It’s vital to continue these conversations, so long as the reality of the film continues to remain a reflection of our own.
Subverting Genre For Something Greater
Focus Features / Universal Pictures
Promising Young Woman is not an easily classifiable film. At times darkly comic, at times wounded and saccharine, the film completely demolishes any attempt at being labeled under a particular genre. While some may argue that this adds an element of confusion and disjointedness to the film, it is actually what makes Promising Young Woman all the more authentic and powerful.
We usually have some sort of insight into “what we’re getting” when it comes to revenge thrillers. Not only do they prime us for bloodlust and a distortion of real-world ethics, but they also are usually very serious, self-involved affairs. There are very few moments in films like Oldboy (the original, not the Spike Lee remake) or Taken, where the world does not feel like it is on the verge of collapse at any moment.
Fennell takes a different, far more layered approach. Unlike one-note revenge stories of the past, Promising Young Woman is undeniably funny at times - and this does not lower the stakes, but only enhances them. “It makes us so vulnerable laughing, so it’s important for this film to make people laugh, because your guard is down, and it makes it easier to have a conversation," Fennell told The Wrap. When serious issues are presented through the palatable lens of comedy, we feel more comfortable talking - and also start to realize how insidious these issues have become within our culture.
The Unvarnished Portrait of Trauma
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One of the stand-out features of Promising Young Woman is that it does not attempt to glorify, or even moralize, Cassie’s actions. Indeed, Cassie is no saint, and at no point is she unaware of the extent of what she is doing. One might go so far as to call her tendencies “sociopathic,” or, in less scientific terms, plain crazy. She does not only hurt men - in one of the most unnerving scenes of the film, she orchestrates a fake “kidnapping” of the daughter of a woman from her and Nina’s past.
Ultimately, though, the onus is on the viewer to decide who Cassie really is. Fennell presents us with an unvarnished portrait of a woman so deeply wounded by trauma that her dissociation and dejection from reality feels beyond a point of return at times. We can choose to label Cassie as unhinged, disturbed, or a number of other unseemly things, or we can take the time to unpack the trauma that has so unraveled her. This is what we owe Cassie, as well as real-world survivors.
Unpacking and Attacking the Double Standard
Focus Features/ Universal
The scene that opens Promising Young Woman is a great one. A group of men sit talking at a bar, casually berating women; they notice Cassie, alone, seeming very drunk. “They put themselves in danger, girls like that. If she’s not careful someone’s gonna take advantage,” one of them says. Then another proceeds to do just that - or try to. It is in this way we witness Cassie’s cunning plan begin to unfold.
On the “walk of shame” home, a group of construction workers catcall Cassie. She stares them down without so much as a word. They grow visibly awkward and uncomfortable - for a moment; the shame is theirs.
It is through these instances, and the title, premise, and other supporting characters of the film, that Fennell jars us into confrontation with the double standards systemically rooted within our society. “Promising young men” are allowed to get away with assaulting women, while livelihoods, like those of Cassie and Nina, are destroyed and their reputations scandalized. Fennell’s film doesn’t only portray these double standards, reiterating a reality that many of us are already deeply familiar with. Rather, Promising Young Woman actively seeks to dismantle them by showing just what happens when men are constantly protected over women - in that reality, no one escapes unscathed.
Cassie’s Endpoint Is Only Where We Start
Another highlight of the revenge film is that when it’s over, it’s over. This is far from the case in Promising Young Woman, even after Cassie’s story reaches its shocking conclusion. The film’s ending brilliantly subverts both our expectations and our impulses, making for a nuanced and authentic - if painfully hard-to-sit-through - portrait of survivorhood in America.
Promising Young Woman is only the beginning of the conversation. If it has provoked, then it’s done its job. In the language of lesser films, “provocation” means only showing us what is shocking - in Fennell’s film, we live and feel it. Even if it has unsettled some, and unnerved many, Promising Young Woman should be lauded for its daring to confront that which only lies latent in other films. By sometimes making us laugh, sometimes making us cry, and other times tightening our fists, the film challenges us to empathize with Cassie - a privilege that countless “promising young women” were never granted.
