Promising Young Woman is not a feminist film, it is quite the opposite

On October 15, the world paid tribute to the 5 media years of #MeToo. Many media have offered a selection of so-called “post # MeToo” films.directed by Promising young woman he came back often.

In other words, we jumped at the opportunity to see the film. We, feminists and cinephiles, eager to see the cinema get rid of it eternal sexist stereotypes and his taste for make violent representations praising the dominance of men over women.

Unfortunately, the shower was freezing.

Self Promising young woman is qualified as “Post # MeToo”it is undoubtedly more to increase its success thanks to a marketing topic just for her feminist reach, clearly less than 0.

CautionThis article analyze the end of Promising young woman and therefore contains many spoiler.

The summary of Promising Young Woman

Cassie was destined for a successful career as a doctor until the death of her best friend don’t turn everything upside down. The latter, Nina, was a victim of a rape and committed suicide shortly thereafter. The attackers are freely and they were never prosecuted because everyone, including the headmistress of the school, preferred silence the deal.

Since that day, Cassie’s life has been all about avenge his missing best friend. At night, Cassie goes to bars and clubs and pretends to be drunk. When a man tries to take advantage of her condition, she shows it to him true face (his female face soberso) and them teaches the lessonexplaining to them that a drunk woman shouldn’t be mistreated and that they should shame.

During this hunt for uneducated men, Cassie meets the likeable Ryan, with whom she begins a relationship. As her love distracts her from her revenge plan, she discovers that Ryan is actually an accomplice in Nina’s rape. She is without appeal: All men are garbage (” all men are bad “).

At the end of the film, Cassie disguises herself as a stripper to break into one evening where am I gathered Nina’s forwards. While he tries to take revenge on one of the men, the latter killed. We then learn that death was part of the Floor imagined by Cassie. He had warned the police and thanks to this ruse the man ends up inside prison for murder.

Exhibiting the violence of a femicide is not a feminist

At the end of Promising young womanCassie is killed and then burned in sequences reaching heights of problematic staging. The director jumps with both feet in the traumatic pornographywhich designates the tendency of some works to show the violence suffered by the victims and to wallow gratuitous and traumatic violence scenes.

The almost unbearable dimension of the staging culminates in the segment showing Cassie’s murder. The latter is kept on a bed by the killer, who strangles her with a pillow for long minutes during which time the camera does not cut. The scene is shot from afar, in shooting in sequence. We’re not from Cassie’s point of viewwe do not know what he thinks, what he feels, if he is afraid.

We do not experience his suffering: we are happy to observe, from a distance, a character that crumbles under the weight of the killer: we only see his legs wriggling, then falling limply. Cassie died before our eyes.

Promising Young Woman is not a female support film

One could argue that if the camera it forces us to watch this femicide in such a brutal and uncompromising way, it’s for the best let us experience its violence.

However, this choice raises the following question: what woman should she be informed or, even more unlikely, convinced, that femicides are violent ? This is the whole principle of traumatic pornography : Victims of violence know this all too well and don’t need to see it their traumas exhibited, eternally reproduced on the screen serve as entertainment you hate spring script shock.

In other words, who is this film for if not for men ? The question arises all the more since this scene sums it up well the premise of the film And the two big ones ” messages »Who wears:

• Abusing a drunk womanthis is wrong. Be careful, Cassie will put her hand in your bag in the evening to explain it to you. Even if she renounce all life plans devote yourself to doing pedagogy to the attackers, or even to her risk your life every night because of this. No matter the fate or safety of this young woman: the important thing is theirs to explain That this is inappropriate.
• It’s not just the big bad bastards which can be violent: all men can be violenteven if they look good, as shown by Ryan, the ideal figure of the son-in-law.

If he there is a woman having become aware of these realities thanks to Promising young womanI would be curious to know you.

The suffering and death of women will never be a victory

At this stage of the film, we are already extremely moved by the violence of his words and the destiny destined for his female characters. Nevertheless, Promising young woman it presents itself first of all as a thriller : but what would it be without a thriller worthy of the name A coupon twist shocking and unpredictable ? We can concede this last point to the film: it surprised us, because even in our worst nightmares we could not have imagined an end like problem.

At the end of the cutscene, the killer decides to burn Cassie’s body. Once again, we pour into exhibitionism. The director seems to find the film original multicolored nails from Cassie, now on one side charred to the bone in the flames. Similarly, she frames the camera on his blood red and carbon black chest, capturing the heart-shaped pendant he wore in memory of Nina.

Again, one might think that the film chooses to leave us these latest shocking images to express the uncompromising violence of the patriarchal system.

Gold, it’s not over yet.

Indeed, ultra pop and joyful music part. On the screen, sms written on an email candy pink to appear. The sender is none other than Cassie. That’s when we understand where the film comes from: the young woman had everything plotted if he should ever die. She had warned a lawyer that something bad could happen to her by giving him the name of the killer via programmed SMS. She also notes that in the film it is said that Cassie has no suicidal thoughts as well he had no desire to die.

Then pop music ended happier and more lively than ever and the last SMS that appears on the screen is an emoji “;)”. Literally, a wink and a smile from Cassie.

Then all is well what ends well. For real ?

There is no context in which the death of a woman can be considered a victory. In a movie described as “post # MeToo”, we would have liked it their suffering not be exposed And exasperated staging to create the more definitive reversal of the situation shock possible. write a character presented as a revolutionary feminist who dies and burns for a rapist and a murderer to go to jail, this is not what feminists expect.

In the “post # MeToo” society.feminists campaign so that women don’t have to endanger and die so that rapists and femicide perpetrators go to jail.

In the post # MeToo society, we deserve dignified representations in cinema.

Feature image credit: © Focus Features