Oklit

"It's every man's worst nightmare, getting accused of something like that."
"Do you know what every woman's worst nightmares is?"

Promising Young Woman is dark, entertaining and engaging. It’s not flawless, I don't think it's a cinematic masterpiece or anything like that but I really enjoyed it. The film surprised me by how many turns it took, it had me wondering where the story would lead. The tone and genre shifted a little bit too much, which was jarring at times but ultimately made the movie more exciting.

What I liked:

• The use of symbolism, colors, music, and framing. The movie is so damn visually pleasing;

• Great ensemble cast. Carey Mulligan was absolutely brilliant in every single scene;

• I liked that Cassandra is cunning, she is not the typical 'cold sociopath' but rather a vengeful woman completely fed up with masculinity. I also liked that Cassie is not a Mary Sue. You don’t get to see a female character like this so often. Her revenge on Madison was too cruel. Later, she admitted nothing really happened when Madison was drunk, but how can we be sure she wasn’t rape? The film’s logic is that men will always take advantage of drunk women, why would this time be different? I know that hurt people want other people to feel their pain when they believe they were never acknowledged, that’s what the creators of this movie wanted to show;

• It's an interesting choice that for once, the main character is not the victim herself, so the movie is based on the depth of a friendship, and loyalty between the bond of women;

• The ending, really exhilarating, matched the message of the film. Yes, it’s bitter and cynical, and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But that’s the point. The twist was pretty brutal and bold, I definitely didn't think they'd go there. At a certain part I thought this was going to turn into a melodrama about Cassie and Ryan's relationship. It seems like some reviewers were expecting Cassandra to be a hero, to literally kill the men who wronged her. People want some movies to be documentaries, not fiction, but just some!! For example, they have absolutely no problem with watching Borat, despite the fact that this is not how Kazakhs behave or even talk (Sacha Cohen’s fake accent is just horrible and wrong), they don't think how the movie would affect Kazaks. BUT according to these people Promising Young Woman should have ended with the main character triumphing and a happy ending, otherwise it would have negative effect on rape victims. One don’t get to dictate people’s politics but surely we can at least expect them to be consistent? You can’t want acting to be a physical representation/stand-in for a belief system when it suits you and don't when it serves your interests.

What I didn’t like:

• The comedic tone of the scene following Cassandra’s death and at the wedding is inappropriate. The characters of Joe and Al Monroe are completely cheesy, idiotic, and quite unrealistic. I wanted them to be more serious because this is not a sitcom.

• Cassandra is putting herself in a lot of incredibly potentially dangerous situations. How come none of the guys she was trying to deceit didn’t have weapons of any sort, or didn’t get mad that a woman played them?

All in all, the movie is tense, topical, and eye-opening for people who don’t believe victims of sexual harassment.