Film Review: 'Promising Young Woman'

Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence and spoilers for the film “Promising Young Woman.”

With soft colors and bold hints of red, “Promising Young Woman” brings a new perspective to the ever-present societal issue of sexual violence and consent. Nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Actress and Best Picture, this rape-revenge film, chock-full of dark humor, challenges the “nice guy” trope. 

Actress Carrie Mulligan stars as Cassie, a young woman whose life was thrown off course when her best friend Nina was sexually assaulted. Nina’s rapist faced no consequences, a result based on an all too common reality. Cassie, traumatized by Nina’s assault, absence of justice, and subsequent death by suicide, dropped out of medical school and abandoned her promising future career as a doctor. Instead, Cassie finds her purpose working at a coffee shop by day and catching “nice guys” in the act of attempted rape by night. 

Cassie pretends to be drunk, disheveled, and vulnerable when she goes out to bars.

Cassie pretends to be drunk, disheveled, and vulnerable when she goes out to bars. Without fail, a “nice guy” comes to her aid, offering his services to protect her from the “bad guys.” Over and over, the self-labeled “nice guy” turns out to be anything but. Each time, the audience is forced to watch in dismay as horrific events unfold. Whether Cassie is too drunk to speak or passed out on her bed, night after night the “nice guy” makes a move on her. But Cassie is cunning and capable, flipping in a mere second to her normal, sober self. Each “nice guy” is trapped in their attempted violence, forced to face the dark and monstrous parts of themselves.

Cassie’s routine is thrown off course when Ryan (Bo Burnham), a past love interest, appears in her coffee shop, adding romance and humor to the film. Caught up in her new relationship, Cassie abandons her strategy of catching rapists until Ryan mentions that Jerry, the man who raped Nina, is returning to town for his wedding. 

Cassie becomes obsessed with seeking revenge and plans to confront Nina’s rapist. However, her world unravels when a video of Nina’s rape resurfaces and she realizes that Ryan, the ultimate “nice guy,” was involved as a bystander. At this point in the film, I shared Cassie’s thirst for vengeance, ready to see blood spill. Why not take a rape-revenge fantasy film to the extreme? However, in her attempt to get revenge against Jerry, Cassie ends up as the victim, smothered to death by the same man who raped her best friend.

The ending of “Promising Young Woman” brings into question the purpose of a revenge film. Death is not empowering and victimhood is not a hopeful message to survivors of sexual violence. If a revenge film is not empowering or healing, what is the goal? In the case of “Promising Young Woman” the objective may be to expose the “nice guy” narrative and challenge the viewer to recognize that even the friends and loved ones who we see as “nice guys” aren’t exempt from perpetrating sexual assault.

The last five minutes of the film reveal that Cassie had a backup plan in the event of her murder. The film comes to a head with the police arresting Jerry at his wedding and Cassie lays out her plan to Ryan through cryptic text messages she arranged to send before her murder.

Much of Nina and Cassie’s trauma resulted from law enforcement’s previous lack of support, belief, and desire to help. This reality mirrors the experience of many survivors; less than 1% of perpetrators of sexual violence see a day in prison. Furthermore, police and law enforcement are not trained to handle the trauma of sexual violence and often re-traumatize survivors by blaming and shaming them. Why would Cassie turn to the police to find justice if this strategy did not work the first time? Why place any legitimacy on police in this historical moment when the institutional racism in police departments is finally being called out?

“Promising Young Woman” contains many of the elements of an excellent film - a strong cast, beautiful shots, and a compelling story about an uncomfortable topic. Yet, the plot falls short with an ending that fails to meet the current moment and offers a path forward toward healing. While upending the “nice guy” narrative is a worthy goal, “Promising Young Woman” lacked the empowering conclusion that I was searching for.

I was left unsatisfied by this film. As a survivor of sexual assault, I was triggered and forced to confront past trauma I never fully processed. While this eventually set me on a path toward healing, I was not fully prepared for my personal reaction to “Promising Young Woman.” I caution other survivors to consider where they are in their own healing process before viewing this film. It is never too late to seek out support and help to heal from the trauma of sexual assault.