Several Years After a Tragic Event, a Woman Sets Out to Right a Wrong

Carey Mulligan in "Promising Young Woman"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

There’s always a certain amount of excitement and intrigue to be had when a filmmaker takes on timely subject.  That’s made even more so when that director accomplishes that with their feature directorial debut.  This is the case with writer-director Emerald Fennell’s dark-comedy thriller, “Promising Young Woman,” a movie that takes on serious topic and manages to be as compelling as it is entertaining and humorous.

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is a woman who attended medical school and had a bright future, but then dropped out with her best friend to take care of her after the latter was sexually assaulted and not believed.  Not long after her friend commits suicide over the traumatization of the past, Cassie begins seeking revenge on those who are at fault for what happened.

Mulligan delivers a stellar performance that’s both emotional and invigorating.  The way in which she has her character switch back and forth between being an unstoppable hunter of those who played a part in her friend’s death, and a woman who’s grieving over what happened in her past shows some of the best work that Mulligan has done.  The scenes where Mulligan has Cassie reflect on the past have an intense heartbreak because of how vividly Mulligan shows Cassie being haunted by her loss.  Then, in the sequences where Cassie exacts her revenge, Mulligan shows a satisfying ferociousness as she displays a deviousness that communicates how dedicated Cassie is in completing her mission, an embodiment of karma who makes sure that no one will forget what happened to her friend.  This is a powerful performance where Mulligan presents a modern-day vigilante, and there’s never a scene where she doesn’t bristle with poignancy or vengeful energy.

There’s an all-star supporting cast that populates Cassie’s tumultuous world, most notably Allison Brie, Connie Britton, Alfred Molina, and Molly Shannon.  While all of them only have one or two scenes, the four of them manage to leave an impression as we learn their connection to Cassie’s past and how their lives have been tainted in different ways by the tragedy that puts the film’s events into motion.  Their interactions with Cassie offer some of the most noteworthy scenes in the movie, offering a great deal of heavy drama in the moments where Cassie must confront the past and make things right.

Fennell’s screenplay maintains a firm handling in how it approaches its subject.  Yes, she crafts this movie as an entertaining revenge thriller, but she always manages to keep the crucial nature of this topic in the forefront, in one way or another.  Fennell never lets us forget the horrifying implications of what could happen to Cassie when she goes out to enact her objectives, always keeping us tense and disturbed as these scenes unfold and we see how Cassie will use her smarts to make sure her plans are successful.

Although this movie upholds the seriousness that’s needed when focusing on such a topic, Fennell is still able to add entertainment value when it’s called upon because of her ability to build a character for whom you can cheer.  Fennell delivers scenes in which Cassie is given the chance to turn the tables on the people whom she blames for the events of the past, presenting a character who means business and will do whatever she can to make people see everything from a perspective that they’ve been denying for years.  There’s a great deal of unpredictability throughout the movie, with Fennell exhibiting a talent for subverting your expectations, creating many moments that will have you wide-eyed as such scenes unfold.

Aside from Fennell’s ability to master the movie’s tonal transitions, her filmmaking ability also exhibits someone who’s able to use distinctive visuals to help present a story that you won’t soon forget, whether it be through the camerawork or color palette.  However, it’s the latter that really makes itself noticed, with Fennell utilizing a vivid sense of color as a way to expose the lives of the characters who have been ignoring what happened in the past.  This is an aesthetic that helps the movie stick in your mind and brings out a world that the filmmaker is imploring the viewer to understand.

Fennell displays a wonderful future in filmmaking, and she couldn’t have made a better entrance than with “Promising Young Woman,” a prime example of what a movie can do when it handles a topical issue in a hard-hitting and inventive way.

Grade: A