Promising Young Woman

Stars: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Adam Brody, Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Alison Brie, Connie Britton

Director: Emerald Fennell

Strange that two films centred on serial-killer women taking revenge on men should come out at the same time. This one, of course, is vastly superior to Me You Madness, though not quite as good as it thinks it is, but quite well written (by its director) and with a leading lady who can really act and draws us deeply into this disturbing drama.

The delicate-looking Mulligan isn't perhaps the first actress (let it be said here that I hate the woke term 'actor' for women) that you would cast as a woman who lures lecherous men on by pretending to be drunk before exacting revenge for what happened to a friend years before - but the British star soon makes the part her own.

However, developments are not entirely convincing and the direction is at times rather stagy. Thank goodness that Mulligan, playing Cassie, pushing 30, long dropped out of medical school and still working as a waitress and living with her parents, is here to keep us watching, although supporting characters are pretty well drawn and well acted across the board. Much of the film's violence takes place off screen, but you should still stand by for a shockingly unexpected ending.

David Quinlan

USA/UK 2020. UK Distributor: Universal (Focus). Colour (unspecified).
113 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 1, Swearing 3.

Review date: 22 Apr 2021