Written by Elliot Lines
Promising Young Woman excels in not letting on the type of revenge administered, ending with a shocking sequence which was as far from the normal as you could imagine, the ultimate sacrifice for justice.
Living an unmotivated life working in a coffee shop, no friends and still living at home with her parents, Cassie (Carey Mulligan) lives a secret life. She seeks revenge, by going out at night pretending to be wasted she waits for a guy to take advantage of her, only to reveal that actually she is not as intoxicated as they thought. When she hears a certain name that triggers horrific memories, she goes on a mission to get justice and will go to the end of the earth to get it.
Mulligan is the stand out throughout. The dynamic range shown in this performance is outstanding, from portraying a normal life to her night time plans. The tonal shifts between scenes are instantly recognisable with this being a difficult subject to portray on screen, but Mulligan doesn't hold back, giving her all to the role.
The film manages to get across it's point without ever mentioning the subject itself. You're almost expected to play out for yourself the type of revenge that is administered by Cassie. The only understanding you receive is the little book she keeps, which clearly shows this has been long term for her, certainly not her first time.
Justice is deserved, but not in the way it occurs. The final scenes are a hard pill to swallow, should someone have to go to these lengths to make themselves heard. Its a sequence in film that isn't easily forgotten, totally unexpected with the direction this seems to be heading. The film doesn't only focus on the perpetrator but also all the others that turned a blind eye but have pushed it from their mind.
Promising Young Woman didn't take the revenge plot as far as it could have, with a combination of Mulligans performance and the shocking ending, it didn't need the blood and gore to tell this story.
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