This movie is described as a black comedy thriller, that’s a lot of adjectives, and a lot for a film to live up to.
Our movie starts in a bar, three men are eyeing an attractive obviously intoxicated woman barely able to sit upright in a booth. They make the obligatory sexually rude comments, yada yada, when one of them approaches the woman, Cassie, and offers her support in getting home safely. He espouses he’s a nice guy and is just concerned with her safety and wants to help her get home before someone who isn’t as nice as him does something regrettable. On the way home, via rideshare, he suggests a stop at his nearby apartment first. Cassie drunkenly doesn’t object, and soon after arriving at his apartment, Mr Nice Guy shows his true colors. But Cassie, isn’t drunk at all, she’s playing a role, and now it’s time to teach this would be sexual predator a lesson.
Next, we see Cassie, it’s daytime, and she’s walking down a street, wearing the clothes from the night before, with what seems to be blood stains on her clothes. She passes by a group of construction workers, cat calling her out with rude comments, with an icy stare they shut up and back down.
We learn that Cassie,who lives with her parents in Ohio, was a promising medical school student who dropped out and is now working in a coffee shop. That sounds a bit sad doesn’t it? We learn something traumatic happened to her best friend Nina in med school, and we can guess it was probably sexual in nature. It seems Nina and Cassie had been best friends since early childhood, and they both attended medical school together. We later learn, Nina was a victim of rape by a fellow student, Al Monroe, which when reported to the Dean, was quickly and quietly covered up. Nina, unable to cope, commits suicide which totally devastates Cassie, and sets her on her path of taking out one sexual predator at a time. Note, she keeps a running notebook of her predators, some in blue ink others in red, wish I knew if there was a code between the ink colors.
At the coffee shop, Cassie waits on a former classmate now doctor, Ryan Cooper. They get into an awkward conversation, with Ryan offering to start the conversation over, and jokes “You can spit in my coffee if you want” which she immediately does! He stares at his coffee, and then asks, "So do you want to go out?” She replies “Seriously, I just spat in your coffee”
The two begin dating, with Ryan not rushing their relationship, it truly seems that Cassie has finally allowed a man to develop a relationship with her and love her. He’s not aware of Cassie’s nighttime adventures, until he runs into her one evening with a potential predator taking her “drunken” self home.
It’s at this time, with the potential of losing the first time she has felt loved in a relationship, that she makes the decision to end her nighttime quest and move on from avenging Nina’s death.
But life has other plans for Cassie, who from the beginning you question if she can ever have a happily ever after. Carey Mulligan as Cassie, and Bo Burnham as Ryan have great chemistry, but her desire for vengeance for Nina is so deeply ingrained in who Cassie is, there is no room for Ryan
When you view a movie with this type of plot, you know there are going to be twists and turns, but OMG this is brilliant writing, and an ending to Cassie I never saw coming.
This movie not only delves into sexual assault and the problematic he said/she said, but also the lingering mental health aspects of assault, and finally the idea of money and position can cure all.
I can’t believe we actually paid to watch this movie at home, but I have to say it was worth it. But, I’m sure it will be available on Amazon Prime in a few months, so don’t miss it!!
Promising Young Woman is rated A, a first in rating movies at home!!
As for our beverage, Cassie works for a coffee shop but fakes being intoxicated…..so I suggest a non-alcoholic Irish Coffee Fill a mug with 2/3 cup of hot coffee, add 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar and ½ teaspoon rum extract and stir till dissolved. Beat ½ cup heavy whipping cream until thick and pour the cream over the back of a spoon right into the center of each mug, add a dusting of cocoa powder.
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