Promising Young Woman

Cassie, a charismatic woman navigating a quiet everyday routine, bears the weight of a painful past. By day she's working a mundane job and keeps up a friendly, unassuming presence, but by night she stages encounters that force the men she meets to confront what happened to her friend years earlier. The plan blends dry wit with precise preparation as she lures unsuspecting predators into situations that expose their rationalizations and evasions. The film follows her deliberate pursuit of accountability rather than escape, inviting viewers to weigh consent, power, and the cost of wrongdoing in a society that often looks the other way. What starts as a personal mission expands into a broader reckoning with a culture that normalizes harm.

Directed by Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman marks her feature directorial debut and stars Carey Mulligan in a fearless lead turn. The screenplay, written by Fennell, blends social critique with stylish suspense and premiered at film festivals before general release.

It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, signaling the power of its writing. Mulligan earned broad critical praise for the depth and nuance she brought to the lead, and the film drew attention from critics and audiences for sparking important conversations about consent and accountability in modern culture.

Promising Young Woman sparked conversations about consent, accountability, and how films portray predatory behavior. Its audacious tone and clever misdirections encouraged debate about gender dynamics in the era of #MeToo, making it a reference point in discussions of cinema that challenge traditional thriller tropes for many audiences and scholars alike.

Critics praised the film for its bold central performance, fearless filmmaking, and tight, surprising storytelling. Themes include the cost of revenge, the limits of vigilante justice, and the ethics of confronting abuse within social institutions, all wrapped in a stylish, sharply composed grindhouse thriller frame for viewers and critics alike.