Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Promising Young Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 12, 2021

Promising Young Woman is a promising film debut for Writer/Director Emerald Fennell who has crafted a smooth and purposeful picture that takes the rape-revenge film to new dramatic highs by blending grindhouse plot devices with modern touches and mainstream accessibility. Gone are the ultra-violent days of gritty and unabashedly raw fare like I Spit on Your Grave, replaced here with content depth and careful character construction. And it doesn't necessarily go in the expected directions. Its ability to deconstruct the genre and rebuild it from the ground up and ultimately deliver a picture that is more satisfying than the ultra-violent fare of yore makes it one of the most compelling films of 2020.

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) was once a medical school student with a bright future ahead of her. But her life course changed when her friend Nina, one of Cassie's medical school peers, was raped. When the school failed to pursue the investigation and the legal system failed her friend, she grew despondent and gave up her schooling. Now, she toils in a coffee shop by day and spends her nights feigning drunkenness, allowing men to maneuver into position to take advantage of her. She then reveals her sobriety and, hopefully, teaches them a lesson about raping women. She begins dating an old classmate, Ryan (Bo Burnham), who treats her with dignity and respect. When Cassie learns that Nina's rapist, Al (Chris Lowell), is getting married, Cassie sets a plan in motion to make sure he never forgets what he did to her friend.

With Promising Young Woman, Fennell takes a familiar formula and reorganizes it to highly effective and engaging effect. In most of these types of films, the victim exacts revenge on her rapists in some heinously and hideously, if not justifiably, ultra-violent fashion. Here, the protagonist is a sympathetic third party who has dedicated her life -- for better or for worse -- to humiliating, not eviscerating, men who would take advantage of a seemingly vulnerable woman. But she does carry her own scars. The system and the world failed her friend, and they failed her moral compass, too. She's not in the business of violence. She's in the business of, just maybe, setting predators straight. But with Al, she has other plans. Best not to spoil them, but the opportunity to exact revenge places Cassie on a path towards something far more personal than she has ever experienced before.

And it is here where the film truly separates itself from the pack. It doesn't go where the audience believes it will go. It takes the fork in the road far less traveled and does so with gumption, rawness, and a modern sensibility that uses today's tools to great effect. Fennell's finale is refreshing, grim, and clever alike. Audiences are going to be shocked, saddened, but possibly invigorated for the movie's bold steps to turn the story upside down yet still bring it to satisfying conclusion. This is great stuff. It's smart and sure of itself, well capable of transforming a tired genre into a fully original film that is as well produced as it is sharply written.

Mulligan's work in the film is first-rate. She blends together an obvious sense of personal loss in the shadow of her once-promising future with her strict adherence to her new code and confidence in her new reality as she lures men to their lessons and particularly later when she's reassembling the story of Nina's rape. Watch a scene in which she meets with her old medical school's dean. Her resolve in the face of the dean's increasingly agitated, then furious, and finally frightened response to her presence is nothing short of exemplary. Mulligan's work is supported by a few fine support performances, notably from Bo Burnham as her quote-unquote "boyfriend" whose story may run deeper than an ex-acquaintance returning to her life.

Promising Young Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Promising Young Woman delivers a fair, if not somewhat problematic and inconspicuous, 1080p transfer. The opening club scene is noisy for its low light output but still holds serve for solid detail and color output. Noise remains for the duration, even in well-lit scenes, and appears static and frozen in place. It's not a particularly attractive look, and it's only a serious issue in some spots, though the noisy front often remains even when light is ample. Detail and clarity are fine though nothing to write home about. The image offers capable definition to core necessities like faces and clothes and key locale interiors, like the coffee shop, Ryan's hospital office, or the bachelor party area towards film's end. It conveys the basics nicely enough, but viewers should not expect to be blown away by the presentation content. Colors are a bit more effective and efficient, ranging from complex makeup, colorful wigs and fingernail paints, and the expressive tones inside the coffee shop. The palette shows no bleeding or pushes towards flatness or oversaturation. Contrast is neutral. Skin tones are strong. Black levels are dense and generally on-point, though again very noisy. Compression artifacts are essentially none. This is not the most attractive movie in the world, but the Blu-ray carries the content well enough, a few hesitations aside.

Promising Young Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Promising Young Woman's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is dynamic, essentially of reference quality, and the clear-cut technical highlight on this disc. The 7.1 lossless soundtrack offers expressive opening beats in the club. The combination of surround immersion and subwoofer output to the deliberately muddy background musical elements are seriously impressive, boisterous but still balanced and allowing for dialogue to remain well prioritized without sinking into absenteeism. At the 3:50 mark, two characters walking down a flight of stairs, the impact is only amplified. Such musical strength remains for the duration as aggressive Pop songs, both in a few more club environments and as overlaid audio, all present with exceptional definition and detail. The track is fully active and well capable of delivering any element, musical or otherwise, with tremendous gusto. The track folds in ambient effects with lifelike immersion and zeal. Dialogue clarity, positioning, and prioritization earn top marks.

Promising Young Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Promising Young Woman contains three featurettes and a commentary track. No DVD copy is included but Universal has bundled in a Movies Anywhere digital copy code. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• A Promising Vision (1080p, 4:03): Exploring the story and themes, its push away from violence, Emerald Fennell's direction, the Ryan Cooper character, and more.
• Two-Sided Transformation (1080p, 3:16): Exploring Carey Mulligan's performance and the character she portrays.
• Balancing Act (1080p, 3:50): Looking at the movie's tone which sits between "horrendous and hilarious."
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Emerald Fennell speaks from the start to cover the opening shots and later covers cast and characters, themes, structure, music, production design, and much more. It's not compelling but it is well informed and well capable of shedding the necessary light on any and every vital, and sometimes nonvital, components.

Promising Young Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Promising Young Woman is a splendid debut for Emerald Fennell and perhaps the best work in Carey Mulligan's career. It's smart, steady, confident, and well capable of rearranging a classic subgenre to great dramatic and darkly humorous effect and impact. The film is fearless in taking a few unexpected turns and as it moves away from the violent tendencies of its peers. It's one of the best films of 2020. Universal's Blu-ray features stellar audio, decent video, and a few supplements. Highly recommended.