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Promising Young Woman

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Promising Young Woman
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEmerald Fennell
Written byEmerald Fennell
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBenjamin Kračun
Edited byFrédéric Thoraval
Music byAnthony Willis
Production
companies
Distributed byFocus Features(United States)
Universal Pictures(Select territories)
Sky Cinema
NOW[a][2](United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • January 25, 2020(2020-01-25)(Sundance)
  • December 25, 2020(2020-12-25)(United States)
Running time
114 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[3][4]
Box office$18.9 million[5]

Promising Young Womanis a 2020 film written, co-produced, and directed byEmerald Fennellin her featuredirectorial debut.It starsCarey Mulliganas a troubled young woman haunted by a traumatic past as she navigates balancing forgiveness and vengeance, withBo Burnham,Alison Brie,Clancy Brown,Chris Lowell,Jennifer Coolidge,Laverne Cox,andConnie Brittonin supporting roles. It incorporates film genres includingblack comedy,crime drama,feminist film,rape and revenge,andvigilantethriller.[6][7][8][9]

Promising Young Womanhad its world premiere at theSundance Film Festivalon January 25, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2020, byFocus Features.It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Fennell's direction and screenplay & Mulligan's performance, and it has grossed over $20 million worldwide. The film wonBest Original Screenplayat the93rd Academy Awards,with additional nominations forBest Picture,Best Director,Best Actress(Mulligan), andBest Film Editing.Fennell also won Best Original Screenplay at theCritics' Choice Awards,Writers' Guild Awards,andBritish Academy Film Awards.

Plot[edit]

Cassie Thomas is a 30-year-old medical school dropout who works in a coffee shop and spends her evenings going to bars and clubs and pretending to be drunk, then confronting men who attempt to take sexual advantage of her intoxication. It's slowly revealed that Cassie quit medical school after the public rape of her lifelong best friend, Nina Fisher, who subsequently dropped out and committed suicide when her rapist, Al Monroe, was cleared of wrongdoing.

Cassie becomes reacquainted with Ryan Cooper, a former classmate, who reveals Al is soon getting married and persuades her to go on a date with him. Angered that Al has found success and happiness while Nina is dead, Cassie begins to orchestrate revenge against the people that contributed to Al not being held accountable for the rape.

First, Cassie meets with Madison McPhee, another former classmate, who blames Nina for her own assault because she often drank to excess, adding, "What did she think was going to happen?" Cassie drugs Madison's wine and hires a man to take her to a hotel room to make her think she's been raped. Madison later leaves Cassie multiple distressed voicemails.

Cassie then targets Elizabeth Walker, the dean who dismissed Nina's case. Pretending to be a makeup artist for a popular band, she lures Walker's daughter into her car. She meets with Walker under the guise of returning to medical school, and finds that the dean only vaguely remembers Nina's case and even had Al return to give a talk at the school recently. Walker justifies her actions until Cassie tells her that she has just dropped her daughter off in the dorm room where Nina was raped with some drunk male students. Terrified, Walker demands to know where her daughter is, finally admitting her own complicity and inaction before Cassie admits she's safe nearby.

Next, Cassie meets with Al's lawyer, Jordan Green, and finds that he is deeply remorseful for his actions. Jordan, who is on a leave of absence after a nervous breakdown, describes how easy it is to build a case against a rape victim. Cassie chooses to forgive him, and later visits Nina's mother, who encourages her to move on with her life.

Cassie reconnects with Ryan. They begin dating and fall in love. Madison confronts Cassie at home, and Cassie assures her that she was not actually assaulted. Madison provides a phone containing a video of Nina's rape, revealing Ryan's presence at the party. Cassie confronts Ryan, who claims he was too drunk to remember the incident and should be forgiven because he was so young. Threatening to release the video, Cassie forces Ryan to reveal Al's bachelor party location. He begs for her forgiveness, but she refuses and they part acrimoniously.

Posing as astripperat the party, Cassie drugs the attendees, handcuffs Al to a bed, and reveals her identity. Al breaks free and suffocates Cassie. The next morning, his friend Joe helps him burn her body in the woods. Cassie's parents report hermissing,and the police investigate. Ryan, dishonestly framing Cassie as mentally disturbed, conceals her connection to Al's bachelor party.

At Al's wedding, Ryan is stunned to receive a scheduled text from Cassie, indicated that her plan is not finished. The police arrive at the reception to arrest Al and Joe. Flashbacks reveals that Jordan had received a package with the cell phone and instructions in case Cassie did not return from the bachelor party. The police had discovered a half-heart necklace with Nina's name on it in Cassie's burnt remains. Al is arrested for Cassie's murder as Ryan receives a final text from Cassie, signed with her and Nina's names.

Cast[edit]

In addition,Alfred Molinaappears, uncredited, as lawyer Jordan Green.

Production[edit]

Writer and directorEmerald Fennell

Emerald Fennell devised the concept of the film in 2017, and sold the script toMargot Robbie's production companyLuckyChap Entertainmentafterpitchingthe opening scene.[10]In January 2019, it was announcedCarey Mulliganhad been set to star in the film, with Fennell directing.[11]In March 2019,Bo Burnham,Alison Brie,Connie Britton,Adam Brody,Jennifer Coolidge,Laverne Cox,Max Greenfield,Christopher Mintz-Plasse,Sam Richardson,andMolly Shannonjoined the cast,[12]with Angela Zhou andClancy Brownbeing added in April.[13][14]Principal photography began in Los Angeles on March 26, 2019,[15]lasting 23 days.[16]The majority of exterior shots were filmed at Campus South, part of theLanterman propertyatCal Poly Pomona.[17]

The film production crew deliberately chose male actors who previously played characters known as good or wholesome to reinforce the idea that predators can be anyone.[18]

Fennell created "mood boards" to illustrate to the crew how Cassie has wildly different facets of her personality.[19]

In the first draft of the script, Fennell planned to end the film at the time Cassie's body was burned, but the production's financiers balked at having a negative ending. Prior to writing the script, Fennell initially considered an ending where Cassie appears at the wedding and kills the men responsible, but she deemed it unrealistic. She decided to have the ending where Cassie has a backup revenge plan as she felt Cassie would be thorough in her planning and she would be aware she could die. Additionally, Fennell stated that having Al apprehended at his wedding would reflect Cassie's sense of humor.[20]

The production had a budget around $10 million.[3][4]

Music[edit]

Main articles:Promising Young Woman (soundtrack)andPromising Young Woman (score)

Release[edit]

In February 2019,Focus Featuresacquired distribution rights to the film.[21]It had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festivalon January 25, 2020.[22]It was initially scheduled to be released theatrically on April 17, 2020,[23]but was pulled from the schedule due to the initial closures of movie theaters that occurred during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[24]It was theatrically released on December 25, 2020, instead,[25]and onvideo on demandon January 15, 2021.[26][27]TheBlu-raywas released on March 16, 2021.[28]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Promising Young Womangrossed $6.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $18 million.[5]

In North America, the film was released alongsideWonder Woman 1984,News of the World,andPinocchio,and was projected to gross around $2 million in its opening weekend.[29]It went on to debut to $719,305, finishing fifth at the box office. Some 63% of the audience were female, and 74% were aged over 25.[30]The film dropped 4.4% in its second weekend to $687,900, then made $586,285 in its third weekend, finishing sixth both times.[31][32]The film continued to hold well in the subsequent weekends, including seeing a 16% bump following its four Golden Globe nominations, with a running total of $5.1 million by February 21.[33]

Critical response[edit]

Carey Mulligan's performance garnered widespread critical acclaim, earning her a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actress.

Promising Young Womanreceived highly positive reviews from critics.[34][35]On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,90% of 427 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A boldly provocative, timely thriller,Promising Young Womanis an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell – and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan. "[36]Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[37]Audiences surveyed byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled byPostTrakgave it a 73% overall positive score, with 43% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[30]

Kate Erbland ofIndieWiregave the film a "B+" and wrote "Emerald Fennell's raucous debut,Promising Young Woman,twists its buzzword-laden, spoiler-free synopsis—it's a#MeToorape revenge thrillerwith bite!—into something fresh and totally wild. "[38]Writing for theLos Angeles Times,Justin Changsaid "The grimly multitasking finale ofPromising Young Womanfeels both audacious and uncertain of itself, as Fennell tries to meld a cackle of delight and a blast of fury, with a lingering residue of anguish. It doesn't all come together, though there's an undeniable thrill in seeing it come apart. "[39]Linda HolmesofNPRwrote that while Cassie is the film's focus, "Fennell is saying something here, too, about men. About nice men and about men who think they're nice men, or nice enough men."[40]

InVariety,Dennis Harvey praised Mulligan's performance as "skillful, entertaining and challenging", but questioned her casting, writing that she wore her "pickup-bait gear like bad drag; even her long blonde hair seems a put-on". He speculated that producer Margot Robbie may have once been intended for the role instead. Mulligan criticized the comment, saying, "I felt like it was basically saying that I wasn't hot enough to pull off this kind of ruse... For this film, you're going to write something that is so transparent? Now? In 2020? I just couldn't believe it."Varietyissued an apology, saying the review had been insensitive and "minimized" her "daring performance".[41]TheNational Society of Film Criticsdefended Harvey's review and criticizedVariety's apology. Harvey responded to Mulligan's comments inThe Guardian:"I didnotsay or even mean to imply Mulligan is 'not hot enough' for the role.' "He pointed out that he was a 60-year-old gay man and did not" go around dwelling on the comparative hotnesses of young actresses ".[42]

Aisha HarrisofNPRstated that Cassie does not get satisfaction from her acts of revenge, something differing from characters in other thrillers where characters take revenge.[43]A. A. Dowd ofThe A.V. Clubstated that Ryan Cooper initially is contrasted with predatory men and "represents the possibility of forgiveness, a light at the end of the dark tunnel [Cassie has] been traveling through since college."[44][45]In regards to why Ryan chooses to cover for his friends when the police interview him, Fennell said: "Hesowants to be good. But he's not going to blow up his own life. "[20]In regards to the reveal showing his true character, Dowd said: "Even those who didn't participate are complicit for their silence, their justifications, their refusal to intervene."[44]Dowd added that the casting of Burnham, who "comes across as nonthreatening" and has "a boyish quality", assisted the use of the character.[44]Harris stated thatChristopher Mintz-Plasse's portrayal of Neil had "just the right amount of creepy, entitled energy."[43]

Accolades[edit]

Main article:List of accolades received by Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Womanwas nominated for five categories at the93rd Academy Awardsand wonBest Original Screenplay.[46]This film was longlisted in 13 categories at the74th British Academy Film Awards,including Best Director for Fennell, Best Actress for Mulligan, and Best Supporting Actor for Burnham.[47]It was finalised at six categories and won two awards, forBest Original ScreenplayandOutstanding British Film.[48]It was nominated for four categories at the78th Golden Globe Awards,[49]and six at the26th Critics' Choice Awards.[50]It wonBest Actressfor Mulligan andBest Original Screenplayfor Fennell.[50]It further received aScreen Actors Guild Awardsnomination,[51]and fourAACTA Awardsnomination, winningBest International FilmandBest International Actressfor Mulligan.[52]Most of the awards were directed to Mulligan and Fennell, for the performances, screenplay as well as direction, respectively.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^The film skipped a theatrical release in the United Kingdom and Ireland as a result of the closure of cinemas in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, through a partnership between sister companies Focus Features, Universal Pictures andSky,the film was made available on April 16, 2021, on Sky's servicesSky CinemaandNOWas a Sky Original.[1]

References[edit]

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  2. ^"Promising Young Woman – BBFC".British Board of Film Classification.December 1, 2020.RetrievedApril 22,2021.
  3. ^abAnna Nicolaou (May 21, 2021)."Indie filmmakers see profit in straight-to-streaming releases".The Financial Times.New York.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
  4. ^abScott Mendelson (March 16, 2021)."'Promising Young Woman' Is The Closest Thing To Box Office Hit This Oscar Season ".Forbes.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
  5. ^ab"Promising Young Woman".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedJanuary 15,2023.Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^Machado, Carmen Maria (January 29, 2021)."How" Promising Young Woman "Refigures the Rape-Revenge Movie".The New Yorker.ISSN0028-792X.RetrievedAugust 9,2023.
  7. ^"Promising Young Woman (2020) – Emerald Fennell | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related".AllMovie.RetrievedAugust 9,2023.
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Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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