PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Carey Mulligan gives an empowering, strong, and devilish performance as Cassandra, a young woman who goes out to bars on a seemingly nightly basis, pretending to be falling down drunk in order to lure men to take her home. Once there, she dishes out her own form of punishment, shame, and humiliation as they attempt to take advantage of her in her inebriated state. Cassandra does this as a way of fighting the patriarch, as while attending medical school 7 years prior, her best friend Nina, was sexually assaulted by multiple men. Unable to cope with the experience, Cassandra drops out to take care of her friend. To make matters worse, other female friends, school administrators, and the criminal justice system all betray Nina and Cassandra in finding justice. As such, Cassandra feels empowered to take it upon herself to seek revenge on behalf of her friend. A timely film that features lack of personal responsibility, blame, guilt, and revenge. Also plenty of “me too” moments along with “every male is a sexual predator” themes. Save for one, no males have any redeeming qualities, so it’s dripping in misogyny. Despite all of that, it’s still an enjoyable film. 6/10