“PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN” WINS BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

It’s safe to say that Emerald Fennell, originally known for her acting in shows including “The Crown” and “Call The Midwife, has successfully made a name for herself as a filmmaker. Promising Young Woman, her directorial debut, has just won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, making Fennell the first female filmmaker to do so since Diablo Cody in 2008. The film, a darkly funny female revenge fantasy,  was nominated for five Oscars: Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Actress, Best Picture, and Best Director. It had also previously earned Fennell a BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, Writers Guild Award, and L.A. Film Critics Assn. Award in the screenwriting category. This all made even more impressive considering the fact that Fennell was seven months pregnant as it was being filmed (in only 23 days!). As her first directorial feature, no one was more surprised by the success of Promising Young Woman than Fennell herself. When she was invited to accept her well-deserved Oscar, she did so in delighted bewilderment, apologizing for not having written a speech. She charmed the audience with her relatability, and, of course, her eccentric frock. Heavily pregnant once again and with a toddler at home, her dedication and skill continue to amaze. 

 Promising Young Woman stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a medical school dropout, who is stuck at a standstill in her life. Her only interest is her secret mission to avenge her friend’s rape. Donning various costumes, Cassie transforms her aesthetic into different female stereotypes and weaponizes mens’ perception of women. She hunts down sexual predators by pretending to be drunk at bars and then reveals her sobriety,  confronting the men who try to take advantage of her. With bold campy outfits, bright coloring, and fluorescent lighting and a soundtrack of vapid girly bops and cutesy costumes, Fennell’s directorial style highlights the film’s contrasting dark themes. Meeting her goal to dismantle “the nice guy” trope, her brilliant script was a powerful criticism of our country’s rape culture, full of stomach-turning twists that won’t soon be forgotten.