"A Promising Young Woman" Review *SPOILERS*

When I saw the trailer for “A Promising Young Woman” back in 2020, I knew that I had to watch it. Now that it is on HBO Max, I was finally able to.

Cassie’s badass and merciless character, played by Carey Mulligan, represents the general population of women who are fed up with rape culture as well as those who have seen the suffering of a loved one who has been sexually assaulted. This secondhand view of the rape of Cassie’s best friend, Nina, makes the film a little bit easier to digest-- especially for the men watching the film, who cannot understand the female experience of rape culture. However, men can relate to Cassie’s character by imagining Nina as their best friend, sister, wife, etc. 

The film opens with Cassie pretending to be so drunk that she is unable to stand. A “nice guy” comes over and offers to help her. Unfortunately, he cannot resist his desires and ends up taking her to his apartment where he makes unwanted advances on her. When Cassie drops the “sloppy drunk” act and becomes stern with this “nice guy,” he is shocked. This is Cassie’s rape-revenge story that began shortly after her childhood best friend, Nina Fisher, was raped in college by Al Monroe. 

Although Cassie had a “promising” future by going to med school, when her best friend was brutally raped and dropped out, Cassie dropped out to help care for her. It is implied that Nina has since killed herself throughout the majority of the film, most likely from the traumatic experience of the rape. As Cassie begins hunting down the individuals who took part in or stood by while Nina was in need of help, the story begins to unfold. 

I thought that the depiction of rape culture in this movie was accurate. It is immediately shoved in our faces the second the movie begins. There is the classic “nice guy” who is “just trying to help.” Not to mention the men who catcall Cassie as she’s walking home. Director, Emerald Fennell, is also sure to insert those who could’ve done something but didn’t-- specifically, how they also need to be held accountable. 

Cassie’s old friend, Madison (Alison Brie), represents a woman who could’ve stood by Nina and helped her fight the aftershocks of the rape, but turned her cheek. This is a real occurrence in today’s rape culture. Women who are too afraid to lose their job or status sometimes refuse to be an ally to those who have suffered sexual assault. The biggest twist of the movie is when Cassie learns that the man she was falling in love with, Ryan (Bo Burnham) was there the night of the rape. Although Cassie had taken a break from her rape-revenge agenda when she thought she had found a genuinely nice guy (Ryan), this realization motivated her to go directly to the source, Al Monroe. 

Personally, I suspected that Ryan was probably there the night of Nina’s rape when he mentioned that he still talked to some of his college friends, including Al. There was bound to be a final kicker that instilled the idea that standing by because you wouldn’t want to “ruin a young man’s future” is no excuse for rape. More specifically, Cassie wanted Ryan to know that he was just as guilty as Al because he did nothing to stop the awful thing that was happening right in front of him. 

Today, fraternities are often shut down due to situations just like this. Although movements like #MeToo have encouraged people to come out and stand up for themselves and others, rape culture is still a huge issue. This film truly draws attention to this issue in all the right ways. 

The way that Fennell addresses the serious topic of rape in this film is well done. The representation of the anger many of us feel about sexual assault is truly experienced in this movie. Hopefully “A Promising Young Woman” reaches the right audience, brings awareness to rape culture, and encourages others to speak up and stand up against sexual assault.