There’s a girl back there. Have you seen it? It is the one lying on the bed while the others crowd the counter to collect the drink. His skin is beaded with sweat, his hair untidy, his eyes are struggling to stay open: for sure, he has drunk too much. It won’t be too difficult to approach her, maybe offer her another drink, take her home and… well yes, you understand. It is very likely that in your life you have witnessed such a scene at least once: a pack leader who believes himself to be so clever and a girl, not very present to herself, who does not understand well if what she is facing is a suitor or someone who he wants to take advantage of her.
What would happen, however, if that half-asleep girl, with numb muscles and surrendered to alcohol, was actually very lucid?, and just waited for the right moment to stop the boy – excited, galvanized, inebriated – just to tell him: what are you doing?
The third episode of We divan, the new Vanity Fair podcast dedicated to new releases in cinema and on TV, starts from this question and, above all, from a film that has caused a lot of discussion in America: A promising woman, the first film directed by Emerald Fennell, winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, which will arrive in cinemas in Italy on June 24th. According to Universal’s original plans, we should have seen the film in theaters as early as May 13 but because of the controversy over the dubbing of the transsexual actress Laverne Cox entrusted to a man, the distribution house has decided to run for cover and to calm things down a bit. To get ready for that moment, however, let’s start to tell you something about this title which, thanks to the famous word of mouth that has earned the fortune of films like Parasite, has managed to create a rift and to get the public and the American press debated at a time when the debate on violence against women and the means to defend oneself is particularly hot.
The protagonist is Cassie, played by Carey Mullighan, an actress who made herself known thanks to films like Drive e He great gatsby that here finally manages to bring out an absolutely captivating dark soul. She is the “promising woman” referred to in the title. She was once a very smart medical student, at least until an event changed her life: back in college Nina, her best friend, she was raped by a classmate in front of several of their friends while she was drunk. Nobody believed her version, and Nina fell into a depression so deep it led to her death. Cassie hasn’t rested since then: she left university, went back to live with her parents, and started thinking about a way to avenge her missing friend. Every weekend, in fact, Cassie wears the dress of the drunk and too upset girl even to remember her name to make the males fall into her trap and catch them red-handed before they take advantage of her. A pattern that always repeats itself the same until a person from the past falls back into his life.
It is at this point that A promising woman begins to transform, from a comedy with dramatic veins, in a real thriller which will see Cassie as a serial avenger who, pawn after pawn, will go after all the people who, in some way, had a responsibility for what happened to Nina. At its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the film – shot in just 23 days between March and April 2019 – garnered a stadium ovation, but there are many questions it leaves the viewer at the time of the credits: how much Has the weight of a woman’s rape charge changed in recent years? Is there any possibility of redemption of the executioners and persecutors? And, above all, can revenge really heal a wound, or can it only give us back a momentary well-being, as satisfying as it is fleeting, forcing us to deal with what we have sacrificed to put it into practice for a lifetime?
To these and many other questions “Divaniamo” answers. Have a good listening!
The Vanity Fair podcast «Divaniamo» is available on iTunes, Spreaker and Spotify.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
