Okay. What the hell did I just watch?
Seriously. My heart is hammering against my ribs like it's trying to escape. I just finished *Promising Young Woman* on HBO Max and the credits are rolling to this sickly sweet pop song and I feel… hollowed out. Like a candy-coated shell that's been smashed open and there's nothing inside but echoes. I'm sitting on my couch in the dark, the only light coming from the TV screen, and my cat is staring at me like I've grown a second head. I probably have.
This movie is a goddamn fever dream. It starts like a joke, a dark, twisted little joke, and then it just keeps twisting the knife until you're laughing and crying and feeling sick to your stomach all at the same time. Carey Mulligan. My god. She plays Cassie, and she's not a hero. Not really. She's a ghost, haunting the world of "nice guys." And I physically recoiled during that first scene in the club. You know the one. When she's "drunk." I was leaning forward, clutching a throw pillow so tight my knuckles were white, and when the switch happened, when her eyes went from vacant to laser-focused, I actually jumped. It wasn't a jump-scare with a loud noise, it was worse. It was the quiet, terrifying snap of a trap being sprung.
There's this one moment that is just… burned into my retinas. It's so small. So mundane. She's in her childhood bedroom, the one she hasn't changed since her best friend Nina died. She's standing there, and she picks up her toothbrush. And she just… brushes her teeth. But the way she does it. It's not for hygiene. It's a ritual. It's a punishment. She's scrubbing, hard, her eyes staring into the middle distance, foam dripping down her chin. It's so violent and so sad and I can't get the image out of my head. Why that? Of all the shocking, insane things that happen in this movie, why does the toothbrush scene haunt me the most? I think it's because it's so private. It's the one moment we see her performing this… penance… completely alone. It's not for show. It's for her. It’s the weight of everything she's carrying, distilled into one single, brutal action.
And it reminds me of this one time in college, this guy in my poli-sci class. Everyone said he was so nice. He always held the door, he remembered your name, he smiled a lot. But there was just… something. A look in his eyes when he thought no one was watching. A hand that would linger a second too long on your shoulder. One night at a party, I saw him talking to a freshman girl who was clearly way too drunk, and he had that same look. That "I'm a nice guy, you can trust me" look that felt more like a threat. I didn't do anything. I just turned away. I told myself it wasn't my business. Ugh. Never mind. It's not important. Or maybe it's the only thing that is.
Honestly, I don't know how I feel about the ending. At first, I was like, "YES. YES. That's what has to happen." It felt cathartic. It felt like justice. But now, sitting here in the quiet of my apartment, an hour later… I'm not so sure. Did it work? Or was it a betrayal of everything the movie was building up to? Was it too… cinematic? Too neat? I thought I loved it, but now that I'm typing this… was it actually kind of dumb? I don't know. My brain is doing somersaults trying to figure it out. It feels like the movie wanted to have its cake and eat it too, and I can't decide if I'm okay with that.
Watching this at home on HBO Max was a weird experience. I had to pause it twice. Not because I was distracted, but because I needed a second. I got up, walked to the kitchen, and drank a glass of water so cold it made my teeth ache. I just needed to stand in the normal, boring light of my refrigerator and remember that the world outside my TV screen wasn't a pastel-colored hellscape. The ability to just hit pause gave me a sliver of control that Cassie never has. It felt both comforting and incredibly guilty. I could just step away from her pain. She couldn't.
And the soundtrack! It's all these bubblegum pop songs, songs that are supposed to be fun and flirty, but in the context of the movie they become these sinister anthems. "Toxic" by Britney Spears isn't just a bop anymore. It's a goddamn mission statement. I'll never hear that song the same way again. Ever.
The whole thing is just so… sharp. The dialogue, the costumes (that yellow tracksuit!), the way the camera frames Cassie as tiny and vulnerable even when she's in complete control. It's a masterclass in tone. Is it a black comedy? A revenge thriller? A tragedy? Yes. All of it. All at once. It makes you feel so uncomfortable, and that's clearly the point. It's supposed to feel like a sugar rush that turns into a stomach ache.
I'm exhausted. I feel like I just ran a marathon. My mind is racing, replaying scenes, questioning my own reactions, questioning that guy from college, questioning everything. I need to go to sleep, but I know I'm going to dream of toothbrushes and men saying "I'm a nice guy." This movie is a parasite and it has burrowed into my brain. And I think… I think I'm glad it did.
9/10. - solid
-alex