Promising Young Woman (2020) Early Review: Best Film Of The Year? (Written By Jaeden Noel)

 

If theres one movie thats going to be remembered for decades to come that was released in 2020, it's going to be this one. Promising Young Woman is the directorial Emerald Fennell and stars Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham and Laverne Cox. The film follows Cassandra (Mulligan) traumatized by a tragic event in her college days, who seeks twisted revenge on those who continuously act disgustingly. There is so much to dig into with Promising Young Woman, this is easily the ballsiest, boldest and most captivating film to come out in the past five years. There is not one thing this movie tries to do that doesn't 100% hit. 

At it's core, Promising Young Woman is a unique drama/thriller/dark (borderline morbid) comedy. Utimately what we end up with however, is an extremely powerful commentary on the world of toxic masculinity & disgusting rape culture we have been witnessing in our society. Cassandra is the voice for every woman on this planet, saying proudly to the scum of this world, we won't take your sh*t. While the film does go off the charts in terms of what is unfolding, it's also very grounded considering the reasoning as to why everything is happening in the first place. 

The performances all around are straight up amazing. As mentioned, Carey Mulligan is a powerhouse and she deserves all the hype coming towards her. Supporting performances from Bo Burnham & Alison Brie are also so damn perfect. Every character in this film is worth every minute of the screen time they get. Even if the characters are total d-bags, it is all reflecting of the real people and cracked perspectives in this world today. The screenplay, also penned by Emerald Fennell is outright amazing. Truthfully & honestly, Promising Young Woman in my opinion, could totally sweep the awards season, as it has every right to take home virtually best EVERYTHING. 

Visually speaking, PYW is absolutely stunning, every frame is captured flawlessly while presenting itself in this vibrant, colourful way that completely juxtaposes the films content. Tension filled, jaw dropping moments come up often throughout, and like I said, it's going to be talked about a lot. There's gonna be a lot of discussion surrounding the choices made in the film & the direction it goes. Especially the final act, which in my opinion is the best final act of the year.

At the end of the day, Promising Young Woman is an essential viewing, and will remain one forever. Sadly, the themes it explore are going to be relevant for the rest of humanity and I genuinely hope this film is recognized for how greatly it approaches the subject matter. 

Promising Young Woman Gets a 5/5!

**The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape provides a free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week crisis line service. The Crisis Line is a private and confidential crisis intervention / support service. Call 416-597-8808 for support. **