Since its release last Christmas, Promising Young Woman has both divided and intrigued viewers. Earning five Academy Award nominations, the movie follows Cassandra (Carey Mulligan), a medical school dropout who avenges her best friend’s rape by tracking down men that take advantage of inebriated women. Written, produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell (who plays Camilla in The Crown) in her feature film debut, Promising Young Woman asks timely questions about sexual assault, consent, and revenge.
"I wanted to write a movie that reflected this thing that we all grew up with, which was that getting girls drunk in order to ‘seduce them’—seduce in inverted commas—was kind of normal. It was in every comedy and girls’ bodies were something to be won, almost by any means necessary,” Fennell told Vogue. “I’d been thinking about that for a while and then I thought about this scene of a girl drunk on a bed who was saying, ‘What are you doing’ to the person undressing her. Then, she sits up sober, and says, ‘What are you doing?’ At that moment, I knew what this was going to be.”
The film is nominated for five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Fennell), Best Actress (Mulligan), Best Original Screenplay (Fennell), and Best Film Editing.
What are critics saying?
The response to the film has been mixed. While critics praised the strength of Carey Mulligan’s performance, people found the revenge plot to be implausible and overwrought. The New York Times described the film as “a hard candy with a sour center” that “turns sociopathy into a style and trauma into a joke.” Other critics have found the film’s audacity charming. A Vox review thought the main character’s fixation on revenge was quite invigorating, writing: “Could we find pleasure in watching a vindictive woman force men to face the pain they’re capable of inflicting? The answer is a resounding yes.”
How can I watch Promising Young Woman?
Promising Young Woman is available on-demand and in theaters. You can catch the movie on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Zoe Guy is the digital fellow at Marie Claire, where she covers pop culture, hot celebrity gossip, movies and TV. She’s obsessed with Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of The Age of Innocence, anything written by Jesmyn Ward and stan Twitter.
-
Olivia Rodrigo Finds the Perfect Spring Dresses at Reformation
She's worn the brand twice in the past week.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Curiously, Just as Meghan Markle Sends Samples of Her New Strawberry Jam Out, the Buckingham Palace Shop Starts Promoting Its Own Strawberry Jam on Social Media
The clip promoting the Buckingham Palace Shop’s product—we cannot make this up—is set to Mozart’s “Dissonance Quartet.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Zendaya's Latest 'Challengers' Serve Is Nearly a Century Old
The 1930s-era dress may have been pulled months ago.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
A Definitive Ranking of Margot Robbie’s Top 10 Movie Roles
She's got a knack for playing complex women.
By Andrea Park Published
-
The Best Bollywood Movies of 2023 (So Far)
Including one that just might fill the Riverdale-shaped hole in your heart.
By Andrea Park Published
-
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ 2023: Everything We Know
Cue up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise."
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
Who Is Gerry Turner, the ‘Golden Bachelor’?
The Indiana native is the first senior citizen to join Bachelor Nation.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know
Here's everything we know on the upcoming episodes.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
The 'Barbie' Movie Poster Is Already This Year's Most Iconic Meme
Your daily dose of internet comedy.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Documentaries About Black History to Educate Yourself With
Take your allyship a step further.
By Bianca Rodriguez Published
-
The 60 Best Musical Movies of All Time
All the dance numbers! All the show tunes!
By Amanda Mitchell Last updated