Theres no better way to learn the art of screenwriting than breaking down the best scripts in the business. The feature debut from writer-director Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman seems designed to spur on uncomfortable post-movie conversations and think pieces as it continually destabilizes audiences. #Focus20. The website's consensus reads: "A boldly provocative, timely thriller, Promising Young Woman is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan. Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman premieres in theaters in the U.S. on December 25. And, every week, lethally beautiful Cassie is on the prowl for all sorts of nocturnal predators and other wolves in sheep's clothing, who are unaware that, sometimes, the hunter can become the prey. Al is hauled away by the police, and Ryan knows that because he lied to the police, he could be headed to jail too. We're aiming to add 1,500 financial contributors this month to help keep Vox free for all. And she does a convincing job. But hes not going to blow up his own life., And then theres this: Envisioning Al getting arrested at his own wedding is something that Fennell thinks Cassie would enjoy. The Marvels first trailer has landed. It just felt like it was the only possible resolution for me.. Mulligan said the moment was the most honest thing. Without it, the movie wouldnt just end on a downer note; it would actively undercut everything that happened before and risk leaving viewers with the primary memory of yet another terrible man getting away with a terrible thing. Its the word of chaos here to disturb the order. Cassie Thomas, a 30-year-old medical school dropout, lives with her parents and works at a coffee shop. Straight from its intro blasting Charli XCX's "Boys," its clear that Promising Young Woman's director, Emerald Fennell, intended to use the film's music to amplify the twisted plot and use the . Plot summary: A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who crossed her path. There was no investigation by the school or consequences from the legal system. But Cassie is nothing if not a brilliant and promising young woman. (2.5/4 stars) Directed by: Emerald Fennell. Unfortunately for Cassie, Promising Young Woman is a tragedy. In the films final scene, as police raid the wedding party to arrest Al, and his best friend and accomplice Joe (Max Greenfield) runs off into the woods, Ryan receives a pre-timed text message from Cassie. Cassie goes on a date with another former classmate, Ryan Cooper, who mentions Al is getting married. Lets break them down. She threatens to release the video if Ryan doesnt tell her where Al is having his stag party. [24], In North America, the film was released alongside Wonder Woman 1984, News of the World, and Pinocchio, and was projected to gross around $2 million in its opening weekend. Last chance to grab a code for the month: https://bit.ly/3Cv99dX. Written by: Emerald Fennell. Cassie gets Madison drunk and hires a man to take Madison to a hotel room. "[36], In Variety, 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". A boldly provocative, timely thriller, Promising Young Woman is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell -- and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan. She drugs Al's friends and takes Al upstairs. This article contains major plot revelations from Promising Young Woman. All semblance of warmth between the two is gone, and Cassie has clearly regressed into a ball of righteous anger. But the person at the top of Cassies list, as youd expect, is Ninas rapist, Al. Mengangkat isu perempuan, film ini berusaha mengingatkan penonton bahwa pelecehan seksual masih jadi ancaman terbesar untuk perempuan di zaman modern ini. We had to tell the truth about that situation, and it had to be exact. Harder than the actual shoot, she said, was the subsequent voice dubbing in post-production (called ADR, automated dialogue replacement). Try it out for free! Thank you! As they are walking out of the bar, they run into Ryan, who, not knowing what is truly happening, is hurt. And I think it was really important that this whole movie is taking those tropes of the revenge thriller and hopefully sort of undercutting them or subverting them all. In the film, Cassie goes to the bachelor party of Al Monroe (Chris Lowell), who raped her best friend Nina when they were all in medical school, which led to Ninas eventual suicide. Watching it, Cassie sees Ryan as a bystander. It feels like Promising Young Woman's entire plot was reverse-engineered from what happens at the end The presence of Max Greenfield as Joe gives the last section of this movie the feel of a New . [15], The production had a budget around ~$10 million. Arc Studio lets us collaborate across the entire season and manage incoming notes or changes without ever losing track of a single thing. Cassie gets the location of Als party from Ryan, the guy she is dating for much of the film, until she realizes that he, too, didnt do anything to help Nina as she was being raped in front of numerous people at a party. Promising Young Woman will be available at home on demand for a 48-hour rental period beginning Friday, January 15th (1/10/2021). Even if the hero dies, some justice will be done. Promising Young Woman makes it one of those narratives which might be fancy and stylized in its approach but still does not fall into the trap of stereotyping the character arcs. With a dazzling and electrifying lead performance by Carey Mulligan, the story follows a young woman named Cassandra who is traumatized by the death of her best friend and so seeks revenge against anyone she sees as complicit, which includes the entire culture that led to her friends debasement and demise. 14 hidden details you might have missed in 'Promising Young Woman'. A comedy movie should have some of the best jokes here, a horror movie needs some great scares. No matter what they do, things only seem to get worse. newsletter. At times the film's tone can feel inconsistent, and for all its darkness and nihilism the film's use of irony sometimes feels a little heavy-handed. Even when everyone else is bored, and even when everyone else is furious, Im going to keep going. But I do feel strongly that what she does was the only thing she felt she could do.. In Promising Young Woman we see builders catcalling Cassie, an indication of the indignities she withstands every day, before getting a look into her personal family life (and the slightly disapproving parents) as well as her life as a barista and her supportive boss. Finally opening in theaters on Christmas, it now comes to premium VOD on Friday, reaching its widest possible audience yet as it also builds a steady momentum in the ongoing awards season. In Promising Young Woman, this period sees the blossoming of Cassie and Ryans relationship. But I think her hope is that things would go the way that she wants them to, and that this guy will forever have this thing on his stomach that says Nina and that hell never be able to tell anyone why or what happened. The protagonist is now on the journey and fully pursues whatever goal they seek to achieve. Promising Young Woman's Flaws Run Deeper Than Its Bad Ending. He contacted the police. However, by the end of this plot point, they are set on the journey for good. Writing and collaborating is easier than ever and it gets better every week. . Ill never tell, she said with a hearty laugh. And it may not be right. 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. Later, she meets Walker under the pretence of resuming her education and questions her about Nina's case. Fennell contorts several events in her movie to arrive at its final scene, an approach that feels like a cheat in a character study but plays as triumphant in an exploitation thriller. I think [Emerald] very much intentionally leaves that open because the legal system doesnt have an answer for Ryan, there isnt a precedent for what do you do with just like the outer rings of complacency in something like this? said Burnham. By this I mean that if I find something that happens in a movie implausible but not impossible, I consider whether the movie would be as successful without it. It was not fun all, Mulligan said. Its been 10 years of slow burn of tiny minute decisions of self-harm, of hardening. I think thats her plan. (Inevitably, the men try to turn their predicament back on Cassie, but the movie doesnt take their pushback seriously, to its credit.). Having allowed these men to pick her up in bars and nightclubs when they think she is intoxicated and vulnerable, she eventually reveals herself to be very much sober and alert. However, another ball is thrown at the Jenga tower that threatens to make the whole thing fall to the ground. But things dont go according to plan. Theres a strong chance that things go wrong, but shes not blinded with rage and suicidal. It also dares us to shift our empathy from Cassie to Al or Joe with this choice. Carey Mulligan stars as Cassandra in writer-director Emerald Fennells Promising Young Woman., Carey Mulligans Cassie is looking for a very specific kind of revenge in Promising Young Woman., (Merie Weismiller Wallace/Focus Features), Promising Young Woman writer-director Emerald Fennell is also an actress, recently seen on The Crown., Carey Mulligan photographed for her role in Promising Young Woman.. Ryan tells her and disingenuously asks for forgiveness while shrugging off his own culpability. Generally this comes in the form of a thematic revelation that allows the character to make the choice to grow, to become the person they never thought they could be, and summon the courage and strength to do what needs to be done at the end.In Promising Young Woman, this is when Cassie confronts Ryan at the childrens hospital. [6] In March 2019, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Max Greenfield, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Sam Richardson, and Molly Shannon joined the cast,[7] with Angela Zhou and Clancy Brown being added in April. Oops! With Adam Brody, Ray Nicholson, Sam Richardson, Carey Mulligan. We were under the impression that these acts of revenge were giving Cassie a sense of closure, but instead is flaring up deep-seeded rage. But just how far her scheme goes, whether she ever harms any of them or what exactly the different colors of ink mean isnt answered. What happened to Nina has given Cassie a purpose and what she does for that purpose many, many male protagonists have been doing for years, Fennell said. Maybe everything Cassie did was for nothing. The main protagonist, Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas (Carey Mulligan), is the person that the title is referring to, along with her late friend Nina. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. Film ini ditayangkan perdana di Sundance Film Festival pada 25 Januari . He so wants to be good, Fennell said. Now, Cassie routinely avenges Nina by going to bars and pretending to be drunk. But I think for everyone who joined it, they really kind of understood it on quite a sort of deep kind of physical level, Fennell said. Emerald Fennell tells EW why she chose to end her rape-revenge thriller with a shock. She's not like other girls This Focus Friday, be one of the first 100 new signups on Focus Insider to receive a free code for #PromisingYoungWoman! Yet that jarring quality has a purpose: It helps viewers realize that the more typical version of this film would turn the stripper into a disposable corpse it would never allow her to be the protagonist. Whatever Cassie sent as proof of her disappearance (we never see it), the police find her remains. through the male gaze) or as a psychopath . Though Nina reported the rape and though there was video evidence, no one at the school took her claims seriously and punished the perpetrators. Fennell put it this way: Look at these two paths in front of this promising young woman. Archived. By submitting your email, you agree to our, A close read of Promising Young Womans brilliant, divisive ending, What we know about the Dadeville, Alabama, mass shooting, Why Democrats best Trump indictment attack may be none at all, The worst-case scenario for drought on the Colorado River, The outrage over Black teen Ralph Yarls shooting, explained, Sign up for the She hates him so much!. 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