Movie Review: Promising Young Woman

Although the past year has been a rather bleak one in terms of quality film production, the new thriller/drama Promising Young Woman offers a glimpse of a bright beacon of light at the end of that long, dark tunnel.

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is a thirty-year-old former medical student who spends her days working at a coffee shop and her nights clubbing, frequently ending up with a new partner every time out. However, it quickly becomes evident that this is specifically by Cassie’s design and that she is not as helpless or witless as she appears to be to the predatory males that pick her up at these clubs and take her home with them. When not out clubbing, Cassie lives with her parents (the always dependable Jennifer Coolidge and Clancy Brown) who lament the daughter they used to have and, not so gently, try to push her life forward. It seems that Cassie’s seemingly self-destructive behavior is due to a horrific trauma suffered while in medical school and the film takes glee in teasing exactly what those circumstances were as long as it can. Then, just as it seems that she has settled on a course that she will follow for the rest of her life, Ryan (Bo Burnham), an old friend from college, pops back into her life and gives her reason to believe that she might one day again be happy. But, Cassie soon learns that Ryan is not as perfect as he seems either and this sets her back upon her original path.

Carey Mulligan in “Promising Young Woman.” © 2020 Focus Features

What is the major thrill in this film is not Mulligan’s performance, though that is exceptional and should not go unrecognized, but rather the way in which writer/director Emerald Fennell, who makes her debut as a feature director with a remarkably plotted and scripted film that foretells of even better things to come from this gifted artist. There is a point at which you may find yourself thinking you know exactly how the rest of the film will play itself out and then Fennell pulls the proverbial rug right out from underneath you and takes you down a rabbit hole you never even considered. That is the mark of a gifted storyteller and one whose next offering should be eagerly anticipated.

Fennell also showcases a knack for eliciting exceptional performances from a cadre of talented actors, including: Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Max Greenfield, Allison Brie, Adam Brody, Connie Nielsen, Adam Brody, Molly Shannon, and Alfred Molina. There isn’t a scene wasted throughout the entire film that doesn’t propel the story forward or enhance character development in one way or another. In short, Fennell’s film is a master-class in economic, effective storytelling.

When all is said and done, Promising Young Woman may prove to be one of the best films of this past year and it certainly offers hope for renewed cinematic exuberance in the years to come if we are to be rewarded with filmmakers as talented as Emerald Fennell.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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