Most of us who undergo traumatic experiences in our childhoods aren’t exactly thankful for those moments. In fact it’s often the very opposite. We find thankfulness when we leave those kinds of environments. I’m probably in the minority but I’m eternally grateful for those traumatic experiences. It’s those experiences of my own depression, near suicide attempt and losing someone to suicide that have driven to me to adovacy for mental health awareness. It’s because of those experiences in my own life that a podcast and website like Victims and Villains exists. I’m grateful for every ounce of bitterness I have endured in my life because it has made me stronger. It might sound odd to say but I’m thankful for conversations, at a young age, that taught me about consent. 

Those conversations drew a definitive line in the sand about what rape was from people who went through it. I’m grateful for the moments that we’ve drawn attention to the subject with the intention to break down the stigma around rape. It sickens me to know that every 73 freaking seconds someone is raped. It repulses me that every nine minutes that victim is a child. Innocence is lost, never to be regained and forever traumatized. Possibly the most disgusting thing about sexual assault education is knowing that only five, out of one thousand rapists, will actually see the inside of a prison cell. Allow that to sink in. I just want to take an aside, as I will again at the end, and encourage any one who has undergone sexual assault of any kind, please reach out to these resources here. 

Understand the more you talk about it the less power it will have over you, and the easier it can be to heal. I’m grateful for those around me, growing up, that defined the difference between sexual assent and consent to my sister and I at such a young age. It has helped shape me into the man, husband, and advocate that I am today. I’m equally thankful for filmmakers like Emerald Fennell and her uncompromising vision of Promising Young Woman. Promising tells the story of Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a medical school dropout, who embarks on a quest of vengeance for those that wronged her friend, Nina, following her sexual assault. As I said before Fennell is uncompromising in her vision for this movie. While we’ve had media in recent years which has attempted to bring awareness to the issue, there has never been any class. Oftentimes, they are overtly graphic with their depiction, like we as the audience actually want to see someone get taken advantage of. It’s disgusting, repulsive, and honestly shocking rather than authentic.

Promising spends all of its 103 minute run time showcasing the healing process of the community around the victim, while also demonstrating how events like rape can bring an individual to something like suicide. It’s never explicitly spoken about how Mulligan’s friend, Nina, actually coped. It’s assumed that she could have committed suicide in a few scenes. As a male, I grew up around men - it’s kind of unavoidable in some circles. I’ve been around those conversations where guys are bragging about how many women they’ve been with or how far they’d gotten with a woman. Once again, I’m thankful for the environment I grew up in and the education I received along the way. I may be in the minority here but I actually appreciated the way Fennell portrays the men in the movie. The movie opens up in close up shots of men dancing in a club, very quickly establishing the tone it is going to take. In an age of Tinder, how many men are driven by the animalistic urge to “score”?

While that factor of the story might seem one-sided, it’s not. In fact, I would even dare say it’s bold. Promising boasts a powerful script that holds nothing back. A few years ago, some of us talked about how Halloween 2018 was the slasher of the “me-too” generation. Little has changed in two years. In an era of increasing sex trafficking and a billion dollar pornography empire, Promising Young Woman is the movie we NEED right now. Mulligan is the star we need right now. Currently, Promising might be overshadowed by the release of Soul and Wonder Woman 84, but this could be one of the most important movies of 2020. Mulligan delivers a hurricane of a performance for this movie. Rarely do we ever think about how something like sexual assault or suicide can affect those close to the victim. Normally, the attention solely rests on the victim or their family. Mulligan proves that not all scars can be healed. She delivers a high caliber performance that immediately puts her in the conversation for Academy Awards. Without a doubt one of this year’s best performances. It’s incredibly genuine and complex.

She’s multi-layered in just about every way imaginable. Perhaps that comes back to the script by Fennell, though it’s not just her script but the way she is able to capture tension as a director. One shot in particular comes from a scene between Mulligan and Alison Brie. The two are meeting for lunch and the event of Nina’s rape gets brought up. The camera creeps in ever so slowly to illuminate the tension of the scene. There are other moments that Fennell is able to capture to immaculate precision the mountain of emotions of Mulligan. When it is matched with the eerie yet sympathetic score of Anthony Willis, Promising becomes an edge of your seat thriller that will shake you long after the credits roll.

I don’t want to give people the wrong impression about this movie. Usually movies like Promising end up being these extremely heavier movies. Dancing throughout the complexity of this movie is an almost romantic comedy element to it between Mulligan and co-star Bo Burnham. Burnham is definitely the film’s comic relief. He’s awkward but lovable. Some of his one liners are so incredibly hilarious. One scene in particular captures the first dinner between Mulligan’s parents, her, and Burnham. Burnham in the movie is a doctor and Mulligan’s mom, played by Jennifer Coolidge, asks if Burnham’s parents are proud of him being a doctor, to which he responds, “no, they wanted me to be a D.J.”. Burnham has a dry sense of humor that livens up the movie’s sometimes dark demeanor.

For as dark as the film can get, it equally has a vibrancy to it. Its visual aesthetic can pull off some truly bright colors. Mulligan repeatedly is displayed in some truly bright ensembles. The visual nature of this film can sometimes feel like a movie out of time thriving on its neon palette that may even make Batman & Robin blush. Then there is the equally bubbly soundtrack that accompanies the score from Willis, featuring a slew of today’s pop hits and classics, including the Spice Girls. But Promising is a dark themed film at its core under its neon aesthetic.

Maybe it’s because the subject matter is so close and personal to me but Promising Young Woman is an unflinching thriller that is as bold as it is masterful. Everything from its camera angles, character development, performances - nothing is wasted here. This is an incredible debut from director Emerald Fennell. While she has gained respect for her work in television, Promising places her in completely new territory as an entertainer. Carey Mulligan is a powerhouse in this film. Her performance is nothing short of incredible. Promising Young Woman walks in boldness. Fortune might just favor that boldness as one of the few of 2020’s masterpieces.

RORSCHACH RATING:

Mental Health Moment: I feel like with a film revolving around the rape and potential suicide of a young girl, it would be easy to make this about either of those things. Rather, I would challenge you to listen. There is a scene within this film where Mulligan goes to meet Nina’s mother, played by Molly Shannon. After some mild reminiscing, Shannon looks to Mulligan and tells her to move on. It’s not healthy for her to continuously live in the past, thriving on the regret of how she should have been there for her friend.

Mulligan’s character hinges on this very moment. This is the very thing that has driven her life the past seven years. Sometimes we get so lost in guilt that we forget how to move forward with this new experience. When I was growing up, I had people come to me all the time telling me about how they didn’t want to live anymore. That’s a hard thing to admit. I had others around me telling me they were just faking it and starving for attention. What if they’re not though? What if it’s for real? What if we just stopped and listened? We wouldn’t know the sinking feeling of survivor’s guilt and questioning what we could have said or done differently to make sure a terrible event like this didn’t take place.

Sometimes listening and stopping to talk to someone can make all the difference.

If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!

Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Promising Young Woman is property of Focus Features. We do not own nor claim any rights. Promising Young Woman is now playing in theaters.

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