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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Of the three best picture Oscar-nominated movies (Mank, The Trial of the Chicago Seven) that have a chance to knock off Nomadland, the odds on favorite to be selected as the year’s best movie, Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah was undoubtedly my favorite. It’s ironic since the other two films have a better chance of earning the night’s biggest prize. But much like the other five nominated pictures, there isn’t anything particularly remarkable about this trio. As a whole, it wasn’t a great year for movies. There were some great acting performances during the year. Judas and the Black Messiah was no exception, earning not one but two nods for Best Supporting Actor.
Just because a film has the revered Aaron Sorkin (
Anthony Hopkins (The Remains of the Day, Amistad) gives the second-best performance of his career (The Silence of the Lambs) in a film that fails to overwhelm, like most of the other best picture nominees. Disguised by the outstanding performances of many of the other movies nominated for Oscar’s most prominent award of the night, The Father (Florian Zeller’s directorial debut) is a very well-made film that we should remember for its story, its performances, its execution, and its all too real haunting reality. I’ll concede to that if these things meet the checklist of a Best Picture-nominated movie. But there was something while watching this highly engaging film that felt like it didn’t deserve to be a movie that was one of the eight best in any year. With that said, 2020 as a whole did not generate many great films. In that regard, The Father merits its acclaim. The counter-argument is that the Academy doesn’t have to nominate up to ten films. Before 2009, only five films were able to receive a nomination. Since then, the fewest number of Best Picture nominated films for a given year has been seven (2018). 2020 would have been a year that warranted the minimum number of selections. However, the top movies, as a whole, were so poor that it would be just as challenging to distinguish five that are that much better than eight.
Adapted plays that play out on the silver screen in a fashion that makes you feel like you are watching a play are not my favorite. That’s not to say they don’t always work because sometimes they do.