Promising Young Woman by Eloise Gaudet

Promising Young Woman, a movie about unfiltered female rage, was one of the best movies of last year. Even though it was released in December, I did not watch it until February, and was astounded by both its boldness as I watched it, and also how much its message resonated with me in the weeks following. Carey Mulligan portrays the protagonist Cassie, a medical school dropout who has spent years avenging the assault of her best friend. Throughout the movie, Cassie is constantly, yet justifiably, angry with a society that discredits the words of women in favor of men. Promising Young Woman reflects the constant rage that Cassie holds, by showing the complete apathy the majority of the world has towards sexual assault. This allows the audience to mirror Cassie’s feelings. While controversial, I consider the ending of the movie to be ingenious, as it never fully resolves the issue, therefore refraining from a trap of false closure that would diminish the anger the film provokes.