By Kyle Osborne
Do NOT watch the trailer for this movie. Don’t read any reviews that would spoil it (I promise no spoilers. I mean, never spoilers) and don’t ask anyone about it. Just watch Promising Young Woman as blindly as possible. I’m so glad that I saw it knowing nothing.
Why? That’s easy – because critics watch hundreds of films every year – less this past year, of course – and when we see a movie that never lets you know where it’s going, and even when it does let you know, it turns out that it doesn’t…you know? – to see one of those is why you sit through a hundred bad ones.
What we are always hoping for is a movie we’ve never seen before. When I think of my favorite films of the year the past decade or so, that’s what they have in common- they were the only films of their kind in that given year.
All I’ll say is that it’s a revenge thriller with a dark sense of humor. I’ll say that Carey Mulligan is so damn good that she already belongs on the awards short lists for the year. And I’ll say that Bo Burnham is amazing. My god, the whole cast is phenomenal.
And that’s all I’ll say. I’m gonna post the trailer below, which reveals too much, but since my review is so vague, I’ll understand if you watch it. But, seriously, if you can possibly just watch the damn thing, you might just love it.
4 out of 4 stars. Rated R (Sexual Assault|Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Sexual Material|Strong Violence) Get Tickets or Watch at Home: Official Website
