Revenge is never the best solution in real life. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it as entertainment. Popular revenge movies are a way for people to live vicariously through the characters to extract justice in ways of violating the law.
This genre is popular especially when it comes to female vengeance. The idea of a woman taking back her power after undergoing harm or trauma is so satisfying. Protagonists like The Bride from Kill Bill and Jennifer from I Spit on Your Grave fulfill those violent revenge fantasies.
But Cassandra Thomas in Promising Young Woman thinks differently. Starring Carey Mulligan, she is a once-promising med student dropout. Overwhelmed with guilt after her friend, Nina committed suicide after a sexual assault, she went on a mission.
Unlike the dark tone of I Spit on Your Grave or the old retro style of Kill Bill, Promising Young Woman shows colorful visuals mixed with the dark intentions of men.
She goes to clubs and pretends to be drunk. Later, she confronts her predators before anything more happens. She did not call the authorities or publicly shame them, but rather made them question their decisions.
However, unlike other revenge stories, this focuses more on how vengeance can actually ruin a person. She constantly puts herself at risk by confronting these men (and women) who were involved in Nina’s death.
It makes you question the revenge itself – is it worth it to sacrifice your life over people who are not worth it. Yes, Cassandra did it for her friend but ultimately, she is also focusing on the people who would in the end waste her life and potential away as she is a “promising young woman”.
The story deals with uncomfortable questions about people’s perception of assault, victim-blaming not just from men but also women and failure of the institution. The issue spawned a lot of debate among critics and the public, especially the ending.
Premiered at Sundance, the movie is now one of the Oscar nominees.
Source: Buzzfeed
