At this point in time, the #MeToo movement has inspired several films, but most of them have taken the form of a supermodel assassin, which is great fantasy material, but a tough sell outside the screen. I know what you’re thinking: “Well, sure, Jim, obviously *I* look like supermodel, so I’ve got that covered, and sure I have top notch martial arts and sniper skills, however, at heart I’m a pacifist, and even though the misogynists of the world deserve exactly what they have coming, I’m not going to be the one to deliver it personally. Hence, these films where Charlize Jessica Kate JLawStainBeckinsaleTheron spikes a stiletto in the eye of a bad guy tend to be beyond me.”
Ok, how about a film that’s a touch more accessible for you, personally, my average supermodel martial artist sniper with basically a good heart reader? Try out Promising Young Woman. This is a film you will talk about forever, so you may as well see it anyway.
Are you familiar with the term “jail bait?” Generally it applies to underage sexual partners, but in the era of #MeToo, I’d say it just as easily describes Cassie (Carey Mulligan). Cassie, decidedly NOT underage, goes out most every night, feigns sleepy drunk behavior, attracts a “Good Samaritan” of sorts, waits for the guy to cross a line, and then busts him. Of course, she never really busts him; it’s much more of a startled humiliation the offending male endures. In a way, she’s doing him a favor – teaching a lesson with minimal consequences.
The viewer should note the lines crossed are LINES CROSSED. “Take me home” becomes “why don’t we just have a drink at my place?” “I’m tired, let me rest” becomes “your panties seem uncomfortable; let me remove them.” Did I mention this was an R rated film? This is not for children … and it’s not even for those looking for a cheap thrill. When Cassie goes from a dreamy/drifty “what are you doing …?” to a forceful, sober gritted-teeth, “I SAID, ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’ “ we are rapt with attention.
This is a dangerous game. Yeah, Cassie has humiliated a would-be rapist, but … ok … you’re unarmed, alone, in a guy’s apartment, and he’s already demonstrated a desire to break the law, a law which has been manipulated to protect sexual predators again and again and again I might add … now that you’ve embarrassed him, what makes you think he’s going to play nice?
The film both acknowledges the danger and ignores it. Promising Young Woman is much more a statement picture than an honest chronicle (as one can gather from the distinct lack of sympathetic women trying to assist “drunk” Cassie finding her way back home) … and yet, that shouldn’t necessarily repel Cassie from our sympathies. Her entire persona is about leveling the playing field for all and has sacrificed her entire career, nay life, in this pursuit. Once upon a time, she was a Promising Young Woman. She was a future doctor at the top of her class. And then her friend Nina encountered something between a date rape and a gang bang. Nina never recovered and committed suicide. Cassie dropped out and works the counter of a coffee shop to pay for her adventures.
This is a tough film to watch and it’s not just because it’s all about sexual politics and male aggression, but 
the fact is that the true heroine of the movie is one who died years ago and never appears on film. Promising Young Woman is a tribute to anybody who ever wished someone “didn’t die in vain.”
I had a significant problem with how often Promising Young Woman ignored the “ok, what’s next?” part and concluded a scene as if Cassie were the only person in the film; this happens repeatedly and makes the film seem as if Cassie is always in control of the situation regardless of circumstance. We know such is fantasy. That said, Promising Young Woman is going to be an anthem for the #MeToo movement. Thirty-two years ago, this film came out as The Accused, which not only tore into the rapist but rape culture as well, however assuming that the courts would be able to sort out the guilty from the weak. Three decades later, women of this country know damn well that courts or local justice won’t help them at all; it’s fairly obvious that this picture was inspired by a president with several credible accusations to his name and a potential Supreme Court justice who –when confronted with a credible accusation of his own – lied repeatedly under oath, whined like a spoiled child during his job interview, and was still promoted by the Senate to the highest court in the nation.
It is honestly a surprise there aren’t more pictures like this being made.
#MeToo has made an awful lot of noise
But shouldn’t they shy away from their poise?
A Prez caught on tape
And a SCOTUS pro-rape
Isn’t it all just “boys will be boys?”
Rated R, 113 Minutes
Director: Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Genre: #MeToo
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Feminists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Frat boys
