Promising Young Woman (2020) ft. Betsy and Trent

Guest:

• Betsy and Trent

  • Never Seen It podcast (@neverseenit_pod on Twitter and Letterboxd, @neverseenitpod1 on IG, @neverseenit on TikTok, patreon.com/neverseenitpod, @neverseenitpod on YouTube)

  • Previously on the 2024 Post Oscars Reaction Show, All the President's Men (1976) Revisit

Cast:

• Emerald Fennell, Writer/Director

• Benjamin Kracun, Cinematography

• Anthony Willis, Music

• Frederick Thoraval, Editing

• Carey Mulligan as Cassandra Thomas

• Bo Burnham as Ryan

• Alison Brie as Madison

• Clancy Brown as Stanley Thomas

• Jennifer Coolidge as Susan Thomas

• Laverne Cox as Gail

• Chris Lowell as Al Monroe

• Molly Shannon as Mrs. Fisher

• Connie Britton as Dean Walker

• Adam Brody as Jerry

• Max Greenfield as Joe

• Ray Nicholson as Jim

• Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Neil

Background:

• Promising Young Woman was released on December 25, 2020 after initially debuting at the Sundance Film Festival earlier that year.

• On a reported budget of $10 million, the film would gross over $18.5 million to finish #72 at the worldwide box office for 2020.

• At the time, it was met with widespread critical acclaim mostly for Carey Mulligan and Emerald Fennell's performances.

• Promising Young Woman would go on to nominated for 5 Oscars: Best Picture, Director (Fennell), Actress (Mulligan), and Editing (Thoroval), while winning for Original Screenplay (Fennell).

• Since its original release, the film has come under significant scrutiny during the post-#MeToo era and about its feminist credentials.

• Promising Young Woman currently holds a 90% among critics on RT, a 72 score on Metacritic, and a 3.7/5 on Letterboxd.

Plot Summary: Promising Young Woman is a darkly clever thriller written and directed by Emerald Fennell. The film stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie Thomas, a woman whose life was derailed after a tragedy involving her best friend, Nina. By day, Cassie works in a coffee shop and seems aimless. But at night, she secretly confronts men who try to take advantage of women who appear drunk—forcing them to face their actions.

When Cassie reconnects with an old classmate, Ryan (Bo Burnham), she begins to hope for a normal life again. However, as she seeks justice for Nina, Cassie’s plan takes a shocking and emotional turn.

Did You Know:

• The very first scene writer Emerald Fennell thought of was a female character lying on a bed while someone takes her pants down, as she is drunkenly asking "What are you doing?", then asking the same question in a completely sober manner. She wrote the rest of the film based on this idea.

• The title is likely a reference to Brock Turner, a Stanford University student who was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. The judge sentenced him to only six months in prison on the basis that he was a "promising young man."

• A few months before the film debuted at Sundance, writer/director Emerald Fennell and her producers set up a test screening to gauge the reactions of a wide audience. During one of the scenes, a fight started between two audience members. One person was very angry about the scene, and the other person was telling them to leave if they didn't like it. She told IndieWire about the incident: "It was quite visceral and that was quite shocking because obviously I wanted to make a film that was thought-provoking that people talk about, but I wasn't expecting that."

• With this film, Emerald Fennell is the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for a debut film. Emerald Fennell receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director, along with Chloé Zhao for Nomadland (2020), marked the first time two women have been nominated in the category in the same year. They were also only the sixth and seventh female directors to be nominated for Best Director.

• There are multiple shots where Cassie is seated in front of her headboard, with the white frame jutting out behind her symbolically forming angel wings. There's also a scene where she's sitting on, and then later in front of, the couch, where the couch jutting out behind her once again forms angel wings. There is also a scene in the coffee shop where she is framed by a blue halo.

• Emerald Fennell deliberately chose Paris Hilton's "Stars are Blind" for the pharmacy dance scene. In an interview she said she wanted "a song, that if the guy knew the lyrics to it, you would immediately fall in love with him".

Best Performance: Carey Mulligan (Cassie)

Best Secondary Performance: Emerald Fennell (Writer/Director)/Alfred Molina (Lawyer)/Alison Brie (Madison)

Most Charismatic Award: Bo Burnham (Ryan)

Best Scene:

• Opening Prey

• Cocaine Lines

• Lunch with Madison

• Pharmacy

• Dean Walker

• Confronting Ryan

• Bachelor Party

• Wedding

Favorite Scene: Lunch with Madison/Lawyer Epiphany

Most Indelible Moment: Wedding/Bachelor Party

In Memorium:

• Gil Gerard, 82, American actor (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Airport '77, The Doctors)

• Anthony Geary, 78, American actor (General Hospital, UHF, Teacher's Pet)

• Rob Reiner, 78, American actor (All in the Family, The Wolf of Wall Street) and film director (This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally...), Emmy winner (1974, 1978)

Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Al Monroe: It's every man's worst nightmare, getting accused of something like that.

Cassandra: Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?

Cassandra: Look how easy that was. I guess you just had to think about it in the right way. I guess it feels different when it's someone you love.

Stanley: We miss her, Cassie. But god, we've missed you too.

Ryan: Dating's horrible, everyone's horrible, okay? I went on a date last month with a woman who wanted to euthanize the homeless.

Cassandra: You went on date with my mom?

Susan: Your parents must be very proud.

Ryan: Not really; they wanted me to be a DJ.

Cassandra: Nina was extraordinary. So smart. Weirdly smart. She was so completely herself. Even when she was four years old. She was fully formed from day one. Same face, same walk. And funny. Like a grownup is funny, kind of shrewd. I was just in awe of her. I couldn't believe she wanted to be my friend. She didn't give a fuck what anyone thought apart from me, because she was just... Nina. And then she wasn't. Suddenly she was something else. She was yours. It wasn't her name she heard when she was walking around. It was yours. Your name all around her. All over her, all the time. And it just... squeezed her out. So when I heard your name again, your *filthy* fucking name, I wondered, when was the last time anyone had said hers? Or thought it even, apart from me? And it made me so sad because, Al...[holds up a scalpel] YOU should be the one with her name all over you.

Neil: I'm a nice guy.

Cassandra: You keep saying that, but you're not as rare as you think. You know how I know? Because every week, I go to club. And every week, I act like I'm too drunk to stand. And every...[pushes Neil against the wall] Fucking week, a nice guy like you comes to see if I'm OK. You wanna fuck me still?

Neil: No thank you, m'am.

Cassandra: Hm. No one ever does.

Joe: You killed the stripper at your bachelor party? What is this - the '90s? Al... classic!

Ryan: Do you want to go to dinner, you miserable asshole?

Mrs. Fisher: Cassie, move on, please. For all of us.

Ryan: Think about this, please, please...

Cassandra: I cannot begin to tell you how much I've thought about it.

The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 5.75

Impact/Significance: 6.75

Novelty: 9.38

Classic-ness: 9.13

Rewatchability: 8

Audience Score: 7.85 (68% Google, 87% RT)

Total: 46.86

Remaining Questions:

• Did Cassie walk into the Bachelor party knowing she was going to die?

• How did Nina die?

• Did any of the med school class go to Nina's funeral?

• How many other people are charged in the conspiracy?