Category Archives: Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman (2020)

The astounding Gone Girl, unfortunately, it is not. The disappointing The Girl on the Train it, fortunately, is not. First-time director Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Women (intentional or not) is a film that falls somewhere in between, even if that was never an intention or a consideration by anyone else watching the film. I mention comparing the three because 2014’s nearly flawless Gone Girl was this intense, methodical movie based on a novel centered on revenge against a man she felt had wronged her. Then it felt like 2016’s The Girl on the Train was a movie that was rightfully or wrongfully being compared and expected to be as successful as Gone Girl, partially because it was also based on a very successful novel, had an A-list leading actress (Rosamund Pike, Emily Blunt) had an edgy and creepy vibe to it, and ironically had the word “Girl” in the title. Promising Young Woman has elements of both movies. It has an amped-up revenge plot similar to Gone Girl and the mystery detective aspect of The Girl on the Train. You don’t need to watch either of the movies mentioned above to see Promising Young Woman. While there are some aspects of each, this film carries its weight, though it doesn’t hurt to be in the same conversation as two well-known films in the movie community.

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