Zoe Boggier ’23
TW: discusses sexual assault
I recently watched Promising Young Woman, and was blown away by the accurate yet artistic portrayal of rape culture in the United States. The film was the directorial debut of Emerald Fennell, star of hit Netflix show The Crown, and it has earned critical praise since its release on Christmas Day in 2020.
Within the first ten minutes, we meet Cassandra: a quiet thirty-year-old woman living with her parents, who has worked the same menial job for almost a decade. She unexpectedly dropped out of medical school with her best friend, Nina, seven years ago and without explanation. At the start of the movie, we as an audience have basic information, but are missing various events that tie the whole story of Cassie and Nina together.
When a former peer from university, Ryan, stops by Cassie’s coffee shop and asks her on a date, we start to learn far more about their last year of medical school. Nina was raped by a fellow student named Alexander Monroe, now a wildly successful pediatrician, and dropped out shortly after the event. Cassie left school as well to help take care of her shattered friend. “Al” is still relatively close with Ryan, and when Cassie learns this, she develops a plan to avenge Nina, now deceased.
Promising Young Woman was, in my opinion, flawlessly executed in more ways than one. The use of wardrobe was incredibly thoughtful. In a particular instance where Cassie forgives a truly apologetic person who had a part in Nina’s circumstance, she wears a long blue dress. The costume helps to drive the point of Cassie’s mercy, as she bears resemblance to the Virgin Mary in the shot.
I also admire the actors Fennell selected to portray the “nice guys” in this movie. She purposefully chose young men with notably goofy acting backgrounds: Max Greenfield of New Girl, Adam Brody from The OC, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad. This was done to demonstrate how real-life dangerous men often masquerade as “the sweet ones”, and it is that very persona that so often protects them from prosecution of a committed crime.
I would recommend Promising Young Woman to anyone who is comfortable with being uncomfortable. While there are not any explicit scenes, and the language is appropriate, the topic is, of course, a harrowing one. I was left considering what drives the rape culture that destroys so many lives, and the film has caused me to continue this thought process weeks after viewing.