Right now, my movie going motivation has seriously slackened due to the starting of football, both college and the pros. It would help if the first movie showtime was before 12, but of course, that is not the case. Sadly, it seems like the world is not geared toward early risers. So, I am doing my best watching movies early in the morning after my runs. There also have not been any great releases recently either. So, this weekend, I watched a classic horror film, Scream, and Promising Young Woman, which is new to streaming on HBO Max. It received some acclaim when it released last year, but it did not get a theatrical release due to covid, so it was just a video on demand release, until now. I had been waiting to see it, but I was unwilling to spend the $20 to rent it.
Promising Young Woman is the story of Cassie, who we quickly find out is living a double life. The film starts in a bar with Cassie appearing to be incredibly intoxicated, and when she is coaxed into going home with some guy, that facade quickly evaporates, as she teaches him a lesson. Initially it seems like her lesson teaching might be steeped in violence, but her revenge is more about awareness without an attempt to physically injure, until the end. As the story progresses, Cassie's motivations become clearer. She wants to spread awareness about women being raped due to excessive drinking and being taken advantage of. Nina, Cassie's friend, was a victim of this, and then committed suicide after. So initially Cassie seems to be going after any guy in the bar, but after an encounter with an old college classmate, she formulates a plan for a full-on assault. Largely she is unhappy with the responses of anyone involved, and at the end she goes after the main perpetrator. This does not go as planned. She gets him trapped, but he breaks free and suffocates Cassie with a pillow in a sick twist of fate. Sadly, Cassie was prepared for this outcome, and the guy ended up getting arrested at his wedding.
I personally found this story very compelling. It is staunchly feminist, but there has been some backlash to it. From one author, who had been a victim in a similar situation, she said that the story opened more wounds instead of making her feel empowered. This came from Cassie's motives. Cassie was not the one that had been raped, but she did feel guilty for not being there to help. Then when Nina passed, Cassie decided to take it upon herself to seek revenge. Cassie did not get the consent or direction from Nina to commence her operation. So, the author argued that this takes away the power from the person that was raped again. Also, in the film there is no real representation of Nina. She is largely a faceless entity left to be just another statistic. So, the author again felt like between these two points that it did not do as much to push the agenda forward as was intended.
The message seemed powerful to me, but I can see where she is coming from. It did feel very disheartening that Cassie had to become a martyr as well to finally get the guy behind bars, but after all the interactions with the dean, the lawyer, and the old friends, the decision to have Cassie killed seemed like another way that the director was trying to show that this is a real uphill battle. It is something that will take a ton of time to get the public opinion to move in the right direction, and to make the perpetrators actions change. It can also be symbolic for a myriad of other feminist issues. There is still a constant battle over a multitude of issues in the workplace for women, from unequal pay to sexual harassment.
This film was also incredibly vibrant in color and in fashion. From Cassie’s outfits to the scenes in the bars, to the interior design. The set and costume design did not miss. The house Cassie lived in with her parents was so ridiculously decorated that it worked perfectly. The outfits that Cassie wore were expertly picked, and they even seemed to blend in well with the setting. The coffee shop she worked in also had a specific aesthetic that blended in with the outfit choices with Cassie and the other characters. The whole film was visually appealing and vibrant.
I do feel like I am not qualified to really discuss these issues, my only real qualification is that I took a women's history course in college, and that was not really addressing this topic. So, I would suggest that people go and watch the movie. It was good, but different people may take different messaging away from it, so they might not find it as enjoyable. It was classified as a dark comedy/thriller on google. Thriller seems a bit strong, but it does fall under the dark comedy genre. Dark comedies are great because they can bring some levity to serious topics. This helps bring a barrier down, so more people might be willing to delve into a serious movie, if they know that it will not be dark and depressing the whole time. I give it 4 Stars. Next week is the new Venom movie and the Many Saints of Newark, so I will be back in the theaters next week, and I am excited!
Other Movies/Shows This Week:
Scream: One of the best opening scenes for a movie, scary or not. It is a very self-aware film; it points out the horror tropes and then executes them. It is an excellent blend of satire and seriousness. There are a few jump scares mixed into the story, and the end is an explosion of stupidity that oddly works. I wish the rest of the movie was as strong as the opening. If this was my first time watching it, it probably would have gotten a higher ranking because I hold it in high reverence in the horror cannon, but whenever you watch anything over and over, it loses some of its luster. It also would have been better if I watched it at night instead of in the morning when it was light out. The fact that it came out over 20 years ago also does not bode well for it, but there was not CGI or special effects to drag it down, but it still felt dated, and not in a good way.
Star Wars Visions: A miniseries of anime anthology instalments into the Star Wars library. They had a wide variety of stories, some more traditional than others. The first one was by far my favorite. It was more traditional straight up action, but others had better take aways. One of the biggest themes is found family, where an outcast joins a group and they all become family. Another strong theme was belief in oneself. If you like Star Wars, you will probably enjoy it, even if some of the ideas, especially those about lightsabers might go against cannon.
Scenes From a Marriage is an HBO show that is part way through its season. It reminds me of Netflix’s hit movie A Marriage Story, which is about a couple going through a divorce and their custody battle. This show is heavy on the dialogue and rarely changes locations, but the acting is so strong that the lack of change does not affect the show. It is very intimate and tense throughout. It is not an enjoyable watch per say due to its heavy subject matter, but it is still superb.
Season 3 of Titans, HBO Max’s D.C series about their lesser heroes, is mostly over. Compared to the first two seasons, it has gotten much better, but it is still not as strong as the live action Marvel shows, except for Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It is without a doubt better than What If?, which has been an extreme disappointment to me. What If? has a great premise, but largely the execution has been subpar.
New Rankings:
Scream: 3.5 Stars
Promising Young Woman: 4 Stars
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