Reviewed by Leah Clark || 1 May 2021

Promising Young Woman (2020) hooks viewers with Carey Mulligan’s character, Cassie, and her weekly habit of playing dress-up and heading to bars to pretend to be heavily inebriated. Every week, without fail, a man approaches her and offers to take her home, but instead takes her to his home with the intention of taking advantage of her. But before they can, she scares them by dropping her act and making them confront their actions. However, the film’s main story is centered on a vengeful scheme Cassie creates that is made known to the viewer as it unfolds. Cassie’s scheme appears to be unethical and nefarious and is crafted to bring justice upon those who played a part in the fate of Cassie’s old friend and classmate, Nina, during their time at Med school, which Cassie herself dropped out of. We learn more about what happened to Nina as the scheme progresses and how each act of revenge Cassie enacts upon each person is understood to mirror that of what happened to Nina. 

Promising Young Woman is a much-needed commentary on the way our society responds to acts of assault and how unjustly rapists and victims are treated after the fact. But more than that, it highlights what women have been shouting for years. With the casting of Bo Burnham (known for his goofy comedy and songs), Max Greenfield (known as Schmidt from New Girl), and even Christopher Mintz-Plasse (arguably most recognized by his role as McLovin in SuperBad) as bad men, “Promising Young Women” shows the audience that not all bad guys look like they would be bad guys; they can look kind, funny, and approachable, but that does not mean they aren’t capable of harming women. Promising Young Woman also toys with the “insane female” stereotype with how it presents Cassie’s scheme, at first giving us just half of the details, leaving us to fill in the blanks, and us assuming the worst. Of course, it was easy to assume Cassie’s character was bad, as in our society we are oftentimes quick to label women as crazy, and Promising Young Woman took that label and used it to their advantage to create a character that you wanted to win but felt guilty at first in doing so. But also, this film conveys Cassie’s frustration, anger, and grief so well that it allows viewers to connect and relate to her, and root for her which makes it easy to justify her questionable actions and simply say “good for her.” 

Overall, this film toyed with a pretty touchy subject and the outcome was not only an entertaining film, but an educational and eye-opening experience for many people who have been long overdue for a reality check regarding what most women live with. I am sure no one would argue that Promising Young Woman has rightly submitted itself in the “good for her” genre, and I hope everyone who watches this move can feel a sense of justice and satisfaction throughout and with its end.