#benjamin kracun

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Girl, Interrupted

Promising Young Woman is a film that absolutely demands your attention. Exploring the often ignored impact that date rape culture has on its victims, it delivers its message with bracing style, striking imagery and deliciously dark humour. A fantastic showcase for both star Carey Mulligan and first-time director Emerald Fennell, it is destined to linger in your memory long after the final credits.

Based on an original idea from Fennel (who you probably know best for playing Camilla in The Crown), the plot is based on an interesting role reversal. What if, it asks, instead of being the hunted prey of men, women became the hunters? Our protagonist Cassie (Carey Mulligan) is a woman on a mission. A surly 30-year-old who still lives with her parents and works at a coffee shop, Cassie plays the role of vulnerable drunk woman at night, stalking nightclubs to expose ‘nice guys’ who try to take advantage of her.

These encounters are as uncomfortable as they are darkly funny. Cassie takes clear delight in toying with her unsuspecting targets, and actors like Adam Brody and Christopher Mintz-Plasse play the role of victims to a tee, from sleazy opportunists to scared shitless. Pulpy and colourful, these sequences are shot with the eeriness of a horror, and the moral uncertainty of Taxi Driver. Benjamin Kracun’s arresting cinematography conjures plenty of memorable images, framing Cassie as the unlikely hero of the story.

As we later find out, this one woman vendetta is a lot more personal than a frivolous pastime. We don’t immediately know about the demons that Cassie is wrestling with, but Fennell leaves enough clues to piece things together. Like BBC’s I May Destroy You, the film approaches a traumatising incident involving Cassie’s friend with subtlety and sensitivity, while illustrating the impact it has had on her social life and career prospects. Fennell takes aim at the cowardly men taking advantage, but also a flawed system that makes victim blaming possible.

This is the role of a lifetime, and Mulligan grabs the opportunity with both hands. Spitting in coffee, creepily winking to the camera, and using sinister ploys to rip her victims to pieces, this is the actress as you’ve never seen her before. It is a joy to watch as Mulligan switches her persona for different circumstances, from a fake-friendly ex class mate (Alison Brie), to a dismissive school Dean (Connie Britton). Mulligan also convinces as someone so consumed by vengeance that they have no time for their own happiness. When Cassie strikes up a hopeful romance with a genuinely good guy (Bo Burnham is goofily likeable), it feels like something out of a fantasy movie, complete with a joyous singalong montage in a neon convenience store.

In her first film as director, Fennell proves a master of playing with expectations. Like the main character to her victims, the plot lures you into a false sense of security of where it will go, before confronting you with a stressful and scary reality. Vibrant and bold in its execution, it explores an important issue with the urgency and attention that it deserves.

Tackling a serious topic with style, humour and rage, Promising Young Woman is a knockout of a movie, with a powerhouse performance from Mulligan.

★★★★★