Promising Young Woman

Ein Revenge-Flick-Produkt der #metoo-Laune in einer Pop-Verpackung mit einem angenehmen Casting und einer eifrigerer Charakterisierung der Hauptfigur, die nicht dem entspricht, an was wir von thematisch ähnlichen Revenge-Horrorfilmen gewöhnt sind. Carey Mulligan ist niedlich, aber die Bemerkungen über eine "Oscar-Schauspielleistung“ sind daneben. Und überhaupt, der Film überschreitet in keinerlei Hinsicht die schöpferischen Grenzen eines spielerischen Häppchens, das nur wegen der Implementierung des Themas in den Mainstream originell ist. Der scheinbare Drehbuchzauber am Ende bestätigt hingegen seine kreativen Limits, die sich auf ein erfrischendes Teenager-Drama begrenzen. Assassination Nation war mutiger und hatte mehr Stil. (27.01.2021)

One of the few #metoo films with a heroine who’s an interesting and complex character, whose actions can be viewed quite critically, but are still somehow understandable. Add to that Carey Mulligan’s impressive performance and you get something really fun to watch, even if some situations stink of screenwriting meddling. Another thing worth mentioning is the soundtrack and one of the most satisfactory endings in a long time. (05.01.2021)

It would be tempting to say that it's an uncritical critical success primarily because of the subject matter and the gender behind the script and direction, but that would be unfair to the author. The qualities in this case are due to the way the current #MeToo issue is conceived "with balls" and free of obscene declamations. I don't share the objections to the author's black-and-white "men are pigs" vision when it's the women (Madison, the dean, the ambivalent anti-heroine Cassie herself) who contribute to the overall effect/impact of "rape culture" here, after all, that's what the two acts of the revenge plan are all about. What's more, even if it did, it rides such a surgically precise black-humor wave about an achingly serious subject with a clever, deliberately overblown 80s pop neon styling that it's impossible not to fall for. Carey, then, is as engrossing as she is disturbing with her complex "PTSD performance" in the whirlwind of a self-destructive spiral of vendetta, and so perhaps only the line with Ryan grates a little too much, because it's too obvious from the start why she's there and where she's going with it. The weakest link is of course the hotly debated ending. Not the ending itself – that one is perfect –, but rather the epilogue. On the face of it, it's delivered in a way that brings satisfaction, but the further away from the screening, the more obvious it becomes that it's redundant and takes the whole thing a bit too far. It could and should have ended already in a surgery or a non-literal postal package. (14.02.2021)

A solid crime thriller starring the brilliant and good-looking Carey Mulligan, who at 36 looks great. The protagonist is traumatized by a tragic event from the past and seeks revenge on all men who abuse women under the influence of alcohol. The concept is great and it's a bit of a shame that the film avoids violence, as in a few scenes it clearly called for it, but it seems to be aimed at academic awards, so maybe that's why. The film flows at a good pace, can be funny in certain scenes, occasionally creates a decent psycho atmosphere, and the ending is definitely unexpected, although not entirely satisfying. A decent film that captivates more with its story, actors, and atmosphere, and if it didn't shy away from brutality, it would be even better. Story****, Action>No, Humor***, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere****, Tension***. 7.5/10. (09.01.2021)

It's a refreshing mix of an unadventurous romantic relationship film and a drama with a social subtext. The film opens up and tackles today's hot topics such as the ills of social networks, sexual violence and, last but not least, the eternal well of ideas in the form of pigeonholing and clientelism. At times it feels a bit like Basic Instinct without the explicit violence, Jerry Goldsmith and the ice pick, but it is endearingly nerdy or, coldly formulaic and sophisticated. Mulligan in her best role in years and thank goodness the ending isn't messed up and needlessly overdone. The only thing that really jumps out at you are the occasional moments where the characters can do 100 different things, but they do the one that fits the story so that the plot can continue. (20.04.2021)

A rough patch on a rough bag. If it weren't for the (complete) ending, I would probably be a little happier, but even so, Promising Young Woman surprised me a lot with how thoughtfully, stylishly and often mischievously amusingly Emerald Fennell managed to grasp a topic with which she could just as well have had struggles. Carey Mulligan is perfect (one wouldn't even know she's the same actress as in The Dig) and I was pleased with Alison Brie in her small role. (04.06.2021)

It’s quite contrived, especially the ending, but the curiosity is pinned at a pretty decent level and the story even manages to pleasantly surprise with the fate of the main characters. Carey Mulligan is good (though I couldn’t shake the feeling that she looks old compared to her peers) and, if we consider how close the premise was to uncontrolled feminist bollocks, everything holds convincingly together and without slipping into the realm of cheap parody. A good #metoo snack that won’t gratuitously piss-off the boys. :) 75% (15.01.2021)

Ich habe mir Promising Young Woman angeschaut, ohne mir den Trailer anzusehen oder weitere Nachforschungen über den Film anzustellen, und ich war vom Endprodukt definitiv überrascht. Der eigentliche Krimi, in dem es um ein verjährtes Verbrechen geht, ist nichts, was wir nicht schon anderswo gesehen haben, und der Zuschauer begreift ziemlich schnell, was damals tatsächlich passiert ist - aber der zweideutige Charakter von Cassie und ihr (leicht) soziopathisches Katz-und-Maus-Spiel ist ein fesselndes Element des Films, aber aus einem berechtigten Grund. Auch wenn der Film einen augenzwinkernden Bezug zur #metoo-Kampagne hat, fand ich ihn natürlich und unaufdringlich in seiner Bearbeitung. Fast zwei Stunden lang ließ ich mich zu den Klängen von (manchmal spielerisch abgewandelten) bekannten Hits auf eine Reise der Konklusion mitnehmen, deren Trost mich zwar teilweise ärgerte, aber letztlich zufrieden stellte. P. S. Am Ende kam mir Das Leben des David Gale in den Sinn. (18.04.2021)

Ich habe mich wirklich sehr gefreut und wurde mit einem hervorragenden und durchdachten Thriller mit der ungewöhnlich rohen und selbstsicheren Carey Mulligan belohnt, die ich vor allem mit weichen und zärtlichen weiblichen Typen im Gedächtnis habe. Mir gefiel das Geheimnisvolle, das Cassie umgab, und ich dachte ständig darüber nach, was in der Vergangenheit passiert war und was zu dem Verhalten führte, das sie nachts zeigte. Und beim Finale juchzte ich vor Begeisterung. (18.04.2021)

If you've known the term "rape culture" for more than a year, you're not looking at the film through the spectacles of this fundamental issue, and thus you can see in all its nakedness how horribly written and filmed the whole thing is. Nowhere in the world do people talk to each other like this, the dialogue sounds like internet discussions read out loud or situations condensed from different articles. It's filmed like a sitcom, it's static (and often with insignificant poser symbolism), and in the faster sequences it's so badly edited that you can't tell exactly what happened. The film even has a reasonable musical structure, yet has no tempo, which I never would even have thought was technically achievable. And I've only seen a romance handled this poorly maybe in the film Obvious Child. Unfortunately, Promising Young Woman is exactly that case where a theme pushed from below gets into the hands of the middle class. It becomes a dull and silly hurrah farce that enjoys its untouchability and success under the wing of its subject. The whole issue of rape culture is thus relegated to a dumbed-down platitude, the trademark strong woman, and by continuing to be represented by similarly bad and calculated films it will retrospectively do a disservice to the whole fight against patriarchal society. Hashtag cinema at its worst. (01.06.2021)

Razor-sharp one moment, borderline cringe the next, yet sufficiently provocative and compelling at the same time. The story is obviously mining the current social discourse, but I don't necessarily consider that anything bad. The reason is that it's terribly important whether the filmmakers are capable of working with the story in such a way as to make a good film. In this case, fortunately, they were. It is, of course, feminist all the way, and intellectually bare macho individuals will be disgusted by the overly one-sided female perspective that doesn't differentiate men into good and bad and only classifies their level of character reprehensibility. The personal scorecard in the form of an old-school written diary is one of the biggest cringe moments; on the other hand, it perfectly illustrates the stubbornness and the main character's own hangups. I'm far from suggesting that the cynical recording of all the results could have the slightest cathartic effect on the central character's psyche, yet I can't identify her motivation here in any greater detail. And I actually enjoy thinking about it that way, because Cassie is certainly not portrayed as a black and white character here. Thus, Promising Young Woman definitely has something to offer in the end, as she manages to use all the craziness surrounding the #metoo movement to build seemingly absurd yet compelling themes. [75%] (10.04.2021)

An awesome #metoo blast and the most stylish movie of the year in one. Given that this is Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut, it's a real hit. It’s been a while since I’ve watched a movie that was so right up my alley. Of course, there are way too many contrivances in the script, but the amazing soundtrack more than makes up for them. Plus, Carey Mulligan is excellent in her total psycho mode and despite her wickedness in her quest for vengeance, you can’t help rooting for her. (12.02.2021)