MovieChat Forums > Promising Young Woman (2020) Discussion > Feminist don't like this film

Feminist don't like this film


Check this review and the responses by feminists:

https://twitter.com/AyeshaASiddiqi/status/1379570287252021258

"Review after review claims Promising Young Woman is a feminist triumph. Where exactly are they locating that triumph? History isn’t made by well behaved dead women. Confrontation is teased, but builds to an end that has no impact. The wholly unnecessary romantic subplot takes up more of the film than revenge, and is really only just set up for a twist that is underwhelming"

"The violated woman, having killed herself, is removed from society, subsequently positioning rape as an experience one is both defined by and cannot survive (a message the women in my life who have been raped did not appreciate). The people who supported the rapist experience little in the way of retribution beyond embarrassment, some social awkwardness, and maybe a blemish on their records. The lawyer who successfully defended the rapist even receives absolution, for no reason other than the fact he privately confessed to feeling guilty - making Promising Young Woman less a feminist rape revenge thriller and moreso a big budget Catholic school special. The depiction of Cassie’s assault and death is lingeringly graphic, as has always been the standard for Hollywood. And her emotions are so underwritten that they appear to be irrational. It’s hardly a win for the cause. If the film wanted to comment on the injustice of how little retribution rapists and those complicit face, then why position Cassie as a “badass” who finds satisfaction? Watching the movie limp from one unsatisfying confrontation to the next, scored as if something dramatic and moving was happening, felt a lot like being gaslit. As did its reception. "

"Promising Young Woman succeeds, not as an illuminating commentary on campus assault, but as an exhibit of the existential tension between the victimhood white feminity depends on and the feminist cosplay it congratulates itself for. It is the perfect film for the death throes of a phenomenon best known as white girlboss feminism. "

Like these:

"this review is so satisfying that it is almost worth it for this stupid movie to exist"

"This is so SO satisfying, thank you, the praise for this movie has been so bizarre"

"Ayesha I had thankfully not watched this film yet and you have saved me from it. Thank you for this devastating - and devastatingly well-written - review."

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Yeah right.

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That's a frequent problem with clientelism: after a while, what you have is taken for granted and you still want more.

The movie portrays white males as scumbags without exception... but that's already taken for granted right now in Hollywood. It's not enough anymore. They want more.

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These are excellent points, and issues I also struggled with. Fennell's decision to kill Cassie is a bold one, but it's also really dubious and hard to reconcile with the film's overall gestures toward feminist empowerment.

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