Promising Young Woman: The Oscar-nominated Film Every Man Must See

Emeral Fennell’s film is a portrait of toxic masculinity, the “good guys” and the effects of trauma.

Promising Young Woman is not like anything you have seen before, it is a hard and raw movie (although painted in neon and pink) about, as the protagonist says, “a woman’s worst nightmare”, toxic masculinity and all what is wrong with the way that many understand and perceive harassment, sexual violence and the way of “flirting” today.

Starring by nominated the Oscar Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman is the story of Cassie, a woman in her 30s who seems to be stuck in a limbo of which can not leave, caused by trauma from her past that led her to leave the school of medicine (and the idea of a promising young woman) and to begin a crusade to teach a lesson to all those men who try to take advantage of women in a vulnerable situation.

Director Emerald Fennell , who gave life to Camilla in season 4 of The Crown , brings to the table (with a good dose of dark humor) an especially important topic with a story that is a kind of twisted moral that not only seeks to emphasize that 1 in 3 women have suffered some type of sexual violence in their life, but that men play a very important role in that, and that goes beyond committing abuse. Doing nothing is also part of the problem.

Promising Young Woman is nominated for the Oscars 2021 for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing, and is one of those stories that, beyond entertaining, seeks to change the perspective, open the conversation, and show us everything. what we are doing wrong.

Why should all men and women watch Promising Young Woman

Carey Mulligan is brilliant

Before going on to the story, the message and the elements that make this an essential film, we have to talk about the role of Mulligan, who had previously surprised us with his roles in films such as Never Let Me Go, An Education and Drive.

Mulligan left her comfort zone to become an avenger and vigilant, a brave and brave woman who knows that the very thing that makes her vulnerable “being a woman” can be a great tool. As Cassie, Mulligan creates the perfect character, a woman who seems vulnerable and defenseless, but who is actually ready for action and will stop at nothing to turn the tables on those who think they can take advantage of her.

Cassie is Robin Hood, but a Robin who does not steal money, but has the mission of showing an abuser that he is being watched and that he will no longer be able to act with impunity.

Go through something to understand it?

The point of Promising Young Woman is to talk about sexual violence , but not only does it show that there are many men willing to seize the opportunity, it makes it very clear that doing nothing is also part of the problem.

Without spoiling too much, Cassie also reaches those women who prefer to blame the victim, take responsibility for their “carelessness” and for not protecting themselves, demonstrating that it is essential to put ourselves in the shoes of the other and start calling things as they are, and start to realize the role we play in the culture of abuse .

We do not have to eat garbage to know that we do not like it, and we do not have to go through abuse to know that this is wrong and that it is never the victim’s fault.

Machismo, toxic masculinity and the “good guys”

There are all kinds of stereotypes (and this is a good thing) in this movie. We can see the man who does not think twice about taking home a woman who clearly cannot consent; there are those who encourage others to continue having toxic macho attitudes, as well as those who stand aside, doing nothing and not helping.

Good men exist and there are many, but the myth of the “good guy” , the one who believes that because women are good they owe him something or that “I did nothing” is an excuse for not having to stop certain behaviors, is very real and here we can see it more clearly, to understand a little more about what that title is like, you can also play with the mind and perception of the rest of the world. A “good guy” does not say it, he shows it with his actions and using that title as a defense ends up destroying its meaning.

Visual contrast

One of the most successful elements of Promising Young Woman (and we found no fault) is the visual style of Benjamin Kracun , who built a rosy world, symmetry reminiscent of Wes Anderson (on steroids) and glitter to create that contrast that we makes it clear to everyone that the image we present to the world does not always have to do with what is actually happening.

Kracun found the perfect balance to reflect what was happening with Cassie internally, who presents herself to the world as this happy and carefree woman, who actually still cannot overcome a trauma that affected many people around her, and uses that as fuel to continue carrying out its mission of justice.

And their opinion …

Alonso Martínez – Digital Coordinator

Promising Young Woman is a harsh portrait of a reality, not only of the experience of women, but of the actions that many men considered “cool” can commit thinking that they are innocent. Likewise, it portrays the silent machismo that permeates society, which leads to ignoring the victims of this type of violence. The story is brilliant from beginning to end and shows through different characters how this system works, the facades that we create to think that it does not exist, and the same damage that this ignorance can cause.

The film invites cis men to reflect on their experiences with women, even if they do not consider themselves “macho” or “violent”. It is a necessary film for this time , and to fully understand the experience that is spoken about in the marches against violence against women.

Jesús Germán – Editor-in-Chief

On the technical side, Promising Young WomanIt has several points to highlight: from a script with some twists that the viewer does not expect to a successful soundtrack, going, obviously, through the direction of Emerald Fennell and the performance of the great Carey Mulligan, works that have been decorated in This awards season and they already boast an Oscar nomination (if there is divine justice, Mulligan should have his first statuette thanks to the character of Cassie). However, it is the background that stands out the most about this feature film, because due to its theme it is one of those films that arrive at the right time to put a topic on the table in the conversations (which is already happening, fortunately. ) and add to the conversation, which in this case revolves around sexual abuse and the way in which a large part of “the gentlemen” take advantage of different situations in which a woman can become vulnerable. From the first sequence, that slogan that the feminist movement and #MeToo have carried as one of their flags will resonate in your mind: “No es no”. Just take a look at social networks to witness how many continue with a “primitive” thought that blames women for being responsible and causing any type of abuse: for their clothing, for going out at night and alone, for not being accompanied to a bar, for not watching their drink, for drinking too much … Enough! That slogan that the feminist movement and the #MeToo has carried as one of its flags will resonate in your mind: “No es no”. Just take a look at social networks to witness how many continue with a “primitive” thought that blames women for being responsible and causing any type of abuse: for their clothing, for going out at night and alone, for not being accompanied to a bar, for not watching their drink, for drinking too much … Enough! That slogan that the feminist movement and the #MeToo has carried as one of its flags will resonate in your mind: “No es no”. Just take a look at social networks to witness how many continue with a “primitive” thought that blames women for being responsible and causing any type of abuse: for their clothing, for going out at night and alone, for not being accompanied to a bar, for not watching their drink, for drinking too much … Enough! Promising Young Woman also adds to that enough! and it lets us see how abuse can change the lives of many people, the importance of an “I do believe you”, how society tends to believe more in the word of a man than in that of a woman, how “prestige ”Of a gentleman is more important than the dignity of a girl, and the infantile and animal form that many representatives of the male gender can present.