This Brand-New Thriller Will Go Down as One of the Best Movies of the Year

Author image: Screenshot 2023 05 04 at 1.11.39 PM

ByPhilip Mutz

Published Jan 20, 2021

Once in a blue moon, you sit down to watch a movie not realizing it's going to be the only thing you can think about for the next 12, 24, 48 hours. It's only been 48 hours since I watchedPromising Young Woman—the must-watch thriller of the year—but I imagine that I'll still be thinking about it long after today.

In this age ofpandemic bingeing, it can be easy to gloss over the true standouts. After all, we've got along Netflix queueto get through. But I encourage, nay,imploreyou to make time for this star-studded,Carey Mulligan-led piece of viewing.

Promising Young Womanofficially debuted early last year at Sundance, but it didn't hit theaters until Christmas. Now, it's available to stream online—you can rent it onAmazon—and it's worth the rental fee.

The film stars Mulligan as Cassie, a former med student out for justice after her best friend is raped by her classmates. The film is dark. The film is funny. The film is clever. The film is important.

Here, five reasonsPromising Young Womanwill be considered one of thebest films的一年。

1. Carey Freaking Mulligan

Mark my words: This performance is going to earn Mulligan anOscar nomination. Her portrayal of Cassie is layered, smart and impossible to turn away from. She manages to balance humor (albeit extremely dark humor) with a chillingly calm strength in her character's drive to right the wrongs done to her best friend, Nina. One of my favorite things about this performance is just how surprising and nuanced it is. Each scene peels back another layer of this complex woman who remains haunted by the past and determined to take control of the future.#BestActress

2. The Rest of This Star-Studded Cast

You know it's a great film when big names sign on to appear in small (and I mean small) roles. We're talking the scene-stealingJennifer Coolidgeas Cassie's mom.Connie Brittonin a particularly disturbing and tense appearance.Laverne Cox,Molly Shannon,Max Greenfield, Alfred Molina.Alison Briecrushingit in a very minor role. Each new famous face provides an additional worthy scene partner for Mulligan to spar and play with throughout.

3. It's Genre-Shifting

I won't provide any spoilers, but the film seems to shift genres throughout, elevating the experience (and the tension) even more.

My inner monologue as I watched:Wow this thriller is intense—ohhhh, it's also a romantic comedy, oh wait, it's a thriller. Aaaand now it's a drama. Romantic comedy again? Now it's a straight up comedy (courtesy ofJennifer Coolidge)...

But then:Oh wow...oh...wow.

4. The Soundtrack

请试着观看这部电影meone andnotsaying out loud, "Oh my god, this soundtrack!"

I'll obviously let you enjoy for yourself, but I knew things were off to a good start when I heard "It's Raining Men." But then there was that karaoke version of Paris Hilton's hit sung in a pharmacy, and of course, that haunting Britney Spears remix and... OK, I'll stop. I did say I'd let you enjoy for yourself.

5. The Subject Matter

I find myself highly unqualified to fully explore in writing the importance of the subject matter of the film. But it is extremely important and extremely complex. I would say the scene between Mulligan and Britton pretty much encapsulates just how messed up our systemic approach to reporting sexual assault currently is and how people in power are often the ones preventing anything from being done about it.

It is Cassie's devotion to changing the system one man (and in several cases, woman) at a time that lays bare just how helpless and unprotected our flawed system has left rape victims. The subject matter is truly what makes this film a must-watch, rather than just a good film. It is what left me thinking about Cassie and Nina days later and what will remain at the forefront of my mind for quite some time. Please, give it a view.