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Promising Young Woman is a 2020 film written, co-produced, and directed by Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut. It stars Carey Mulligan as a troubled young woman haunted by a traumatic past as she navigates balancing forgiveness and vengeance, with Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Chris Lowell, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton in supporting roles. It incorporates film genres including black comedy, crime drama, feminist film, rape and revenge, and vigilante thriller. Promising Young Woman had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2020, by Focus Features. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Fennell's direction and screenplay, the editing and Mulligan's performance, and grossed over $20 million worldwide. The film won Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards, with additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mulligan), and Best Film Editing. Fennell also won Best Original Screenplay at the Critics' Choice Awards, Writers' Guild Awards, and British Academy Film Awards. Plot Cassie Thomas, a 30-year-old medical school dropout, seeks revenge against those involved in her best friend Nina Fisher's sexual assault and subsequent suicide. Her quest begins when she learns that Al Monroe, the perpetrator, is getting married. Cassie spends her nights pretending to be drunk in clubs, exposing men who attempt to take advantage of her intoxication. She befriends Ryan Cooper, a former classmate, who reveals Al's upcoming wedding and persuades her to go on a date with him. Cassie confronts Madison McPhee, another former classmate and friend of Nina's, who denies Nina's rape. While Madison gets drunk, Cassie hires a man to take her to a hotel room. Madison later leaves Cassie multiple distressed voicemails. Cassie then targets Elizabeth Walker, the dean who dismissed Nina's case. Pretending to be a makeup artist, she lures Walker's daughter, Amber, into her car and questions Walker about Nina's case. When Walker justifies her actions, Cassie tells her she dropped Amber off at a dorm with drunk male students. Cassie later reveals Amber's safety, forcing Walker to confront her inaction. During another revenge attempt, Cassie accidentally runs into Ryan, whom she was supposed to meet for a date. She discovers that Jordan Green, Al's lawyer, is remorseful and on leave after realizing the harm he caused to women. Cassie forgives him, retracting her plan for revenge, and resumes her relationship with Ryan. Madison confronts Cassie outside her house, and Cassie assures her that nothing harmful occurred. Madison provides a phone containing a video of Nina's rape, revealing Ryan's presence at the party. Cassie confronts Ryan, who claims he was too drunk to remember the incident. Threatening to release the video, Cassie forces Ryan to reveal Al's bachelor party location. Posing as a stripper at the party, Cassie drugs the attendees, handcuffs Al to a bed, and reveals her identity. During the confrontation, Al breaks free, suffocates Cassie, and with the help of his friend Joe, burns her body in the woods. Cassie's parents report her missing, and the police investigate. Ryan, dishonestly framing Cassie as mentally disturbed, conceals her connection to Al's bachelor party. At Al's wedding, Ryan and Jordan receive texts from Cassie. Jordan receives a package with the video and instructions in case Cassie doesn't return. Gail, Cassie's friend and manager, finds a half-heart necklace with Cassie's name, and the police discover the matching half with Cassie's burnt remains. Al is arrested for Cassie's murder as Ryan receives a final text from Cassie, signed with her and Nina's names. Cast Production Emerald Fennell devised the concept of the film in 2017, and sold the script to Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap Entertainment after pitching the opening scene. In January 2019, it was announced Carey Mulligan had been set to star in the film, with Fennell directing. In March 2019, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Max Greenfield, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Sam Richardson, and Molly Shannon joined the cast, with Angela Zhou and Clancy Brown being added in April. Principal photography began in Los Angeles on March 26, 2019, lasting 23 days. The majority of exterior shots were filmed at Campus South, part of the Lanterman property at Cal Poly Pomona. The film production crew deliberately chose male actors who previously played characters known as good or wholesome to reinforce the idea that predators can be anyone. Fennell created "mood boards" to illustrate to the crew how Cassie has wildly different facets of her personality. Originally, Fennell planned to end the film at the time Cassie's body was burned, but the production's financiers balked at having a negative ending. She also considered an ending where Cassie appears at the wedding and kills the men responsible but deemed it unrealistic. She decided to have the ending where Cassie has a backup revenge plan as she felt Cassie would be thorough in her planning and she would be aware she could die. Additionally, Fennell stated that having Al apprehended at his wedding would reflect Cassie's sense of humor. The production had a budget around $10 million. Music Release In February 2019, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. It was initially scheduled to be released theatrically on April 17, 2020, but was pulled from the schedule due to the initial closures of movie theaters that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was theatrically released on December 25, 2020, instead, and on video on demand on January 15, 2021. The Blu-ray was released on March 16, 2021. Reception Box office Promising Young Woman grossed $6.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $20.3 million. In North America, the film was released alongside Wonder Woman 1984, News of the World, and Pinocchio, and was projected to gross around $2 million in its opening weekend. It went on to debut to $719,305, finishing fifth at the box office. Some 63% of the audience were female, and 74% were aged over 25. The film dropped 4.4% in its second weekend to $687,900, then made $586,285 in its third weekend, finishing sixth both times. The film continued to hold well in the subsequent weekends, including seeing a 16% bump following its four Golden Globe nominations, with a running total of $5.1 million by February 21. Critical response Promising Young Woman received highly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 427 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A boldly provo.... Discover the Cassie Alexander popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Cassie Alexander books.