Promising Young Woman (PYW) is a crime drama that premiered at 2020’s Sundance Festival. Directed and written by Emerald Fennell, it stars Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Christopher Lowell, Connie Britton, Alfred Molina, and Laverne Cox. Why is this feature important for society and the #MeToo movement? Read the article to find the answers and watch “Promising Young Woman.”
The typical office hours are from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. Afterward, people tend to go to clubs to drink and forget about their daily hurdles.
As with any other cocktail night, intoxication can come into play. Thus, the lines get blurry. Particularly, Cassandra (played by Mulligan), does this every week.
And deja vu, she ends up in a new man’s residence – involuntarily. Except that she isn’t under the influence. Admittedly, she is 100 % sober. So, for what purpose?
Seven years ago, she attended med school alongside her best friend Nina. Two promising young women atop their classes with aspirations of becoming doctors. Unfortunately, on one night of partying, her classmate was raped.
“What would you have me do? Ruin a young man’s life? I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.“
–Dean of Med School, Promising Young Woman (2020)
Once the lines were not blurry anymore, Nina regained consciousness. They reported it to the University but they sided with her predator, Alexander (Lowell), giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Now, she is a 30-year-woman college dropout living with her parents and has settled as a waitress at a coffee shop, owned by Gail (Cox).
One day, she encounters an old friend named Ryan (Burnham) at the shop. Unlike her, he was able to graduate from med school and is an established pediatrician.
Inadvertent, Ryan mentions that their former classmate Alexander is wedding soon. Through social media, she pins down Madison (Brie), an old friend, in hopes of having her now as an ally – to no avail.
Consequently, Cassandra is ready to take matters into her own hands, regardless of whether the Dean of Med School (Britton) and Alexander’s past lawyer (Molina) have moved on. Now, she is ready for payback. Will she meet justice?
Besides excelling at acting, PYW assembles a cast for the audience to believe you are looking at the definition of a “nice guy”. Additionally, costume designer, Nancy Steiner, thoroughly styles multi-facades for Carrey to portray different personas.
“Promising Young Woman” re-sparked the ‘Me Too’ movement, which was prompted by activist Tarana Burke in 2006. A victim herself.
On October 15, 2017, via social media apps, activist Alyssa Milano encouraged all the silenced victims to step forward with the hashtag #MeToo.
Five years later, the movement lets survivors know they are not alone and they have the power to speak up. Slowly the topic has made its way into legislation. Thus, this is an important matter that needs to be addressed at schools, universities, and workplaces.
Look at the cast explaining PYW in the next interview and watch “Promising Young Woman” on your favorite streaming platform.
