Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman is a 2020 film written, co-produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut. It stars Carey Mulligan as a troubled young woman haunted by a traumatic past as she navigates balancing forgiveness and vengeance, with Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Chris Lowell, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton in supporting roles. It incorporates film genres including black comedy, crime drama, feminist film, rape and revenge, and vigilante thriller. Promising Young Woman had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2020, by Focus Features. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Fennell's direction and screenplay, the editing and Mulligan's performance, and grossed $19 million worldwide. The film won Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards, with additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mulligan), and Best Film Editing. Fennell also won Best Original Screenplay at the Critics' Choice Awards, Writers' Guild Awards, and British Academy Film Awards. Plot Cassie Thomas, a 30-year-old medical school dropout, lives with her parents and works at a coffee shop. It is believed that years earlier, her classmate Al Monroe raped her best friend Nina Fisher, leading to Nina's suicide. There was no investigation by the school nor consequences from the legal system. Cassie now spends her nights feigning drunkenness in clubs and bars, allowing men to take her to their homes before revealing her sobriety if they try to take advantage of her.