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The sentence “I’m a nice guy” has likely never been uttered by an actual nice guy in the history of the world, and Margot Robbie is here to prove that with the new film, Promising Young Woman, which, judging by the trailer alone is set to be one of the most talked-about releases of 2020.
Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, which was behind Oscar-nominated film I, Tonya and, more recently, hit Hulu comedy, Dollface, is producing the drama-thriller which is set to be premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January and stars Carey Mulligan, Adam Brody and Alison Brie.
Ahead of its official debut next month, the film’s first trailer has been released, showing a young woman named Cassie (Mulligan) working as a waitress after an unexplained trauma prompted her to drop out of medical school.
The opening scene shows Cassie slumped in a chair alone at a bar, seemingly too drunk to hold her own head up. The vulnerable blonde catches the attention of an unknown man (Brody) who approaches her as a voiceover says, “Every week, I go to a club. I act like I’m too drunk to stand. And every week, a nice guy comes over to see if I’m okay.”
The scene then cuts to Cassie looking intoxicated in a taxi with the man, before showing them at a house where she lies on the bed, feigning illness. When the man attempts to make sexual advances at a near unconscious Cassie, she sits up straight, completely sober, and bluntly asks, “What are you doing?”
If the trailer alone is giving you serious Killing Eve vibes, that’s no coincidence: Emerald Fennell, who took the reins from Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the spy thriller’s second season, is at the film’s helm, meaning we’re in store for dark comedy, potential violence and a lot of costume changes.
But unlike Killing Eve’s Villanelle, Cassie isn’t hired to kill. She’s in it for revenge against men who pretend to be nice, but who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of women should the opportunity arise, a topic which couldn’t be more timely in the aftermath of the Me Too movement.
This year we had The Morning Show and Bombshell focus on workplace sexual misconduct, and it looks like Promising Young Woman is tackling campus sexual assault and victim-blaming for 2020. If you ask us, it can’t come soon enough.
Promising Young Woman is set to be released in cinemas April 2020.
