IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT // A FILM REVIEW OF "PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN"

BY MATEO MORENO

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN is a female empowering vigilante movie that seems perfectly released for the times we live in. Carey Mulligan is Cassie, a young woman who we first meet as she is (seemingly) dead drunk at a club. She's barely able to hold herself up, leaning against the back of a couch. Three co-workers at the bar spot her and two of them begin to comment on her disgustingly. The third friend seems to be genuinely embarrassed by their behavior and offers to go help her out. He calls them both an Uber, telling her that he was headed home anyway. In the Uber, he decides they should stop at his place for a nightcap first. He basically carries her into his apartment and makes her a drink, then lays her on his bed, begging her not to fall asleep before they can have some fun. Then suddenly, Cassie sits straight up. "Hey, what are you doing?" His eyes widen with confusion and fear. She's very much sober and very much unhappy.

Cassie has been doing this for a while: writing wrongs and setting up men who are attempting to take intoxicated women home and rape them. She's incredibly smart and savvy, a young woman who's dropped out of med school in her final year and now lives with her supportive but bewildered parents (Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown). Something that happened to her triggered her dropout and her new revenge missions, something that we slowly learn about as the film progresses. She works at a local coffee shop alongside her friend and boss Gail (Laverne Cox). She has the same view of men, no matter who they are, and those who claim that they're one of the "nice ones" are usually the worst. Her armor starts to slowly (very slowly) chip away when a former classmate Ryan (Bo Burnham) comes into her coffee shop, first embarrassing himself in front of her and then asking her out on a date. She says no, but he comes back and starts to show that perhaps he isn't one of the bad ones. His sense of humor is as dark as hers and as long as he doesn't know about her nighttime gig, perhaps this might be someone to bring some sort of light into her life. First though, there's a few people who need to pay. People that played a part in the dark past that has inspired Cassie's new life.

Each time we think we know what's in store, the film shifts and twists, adding surprise after surprise. Writer/Director Emerald Fennell has crafted a fantastically clever thriller with pitchblack humor. She's also cast the men perfectly, with the slimiest of them played by comedic actors known for playing the "good guy." Carey Mulligan is phenomenal as Cassie, sublime, brutally hilarious and magnificently gripping in a powerhouse of a performance. There's darkness and pain behind every smile and as we root for her, we also fear that her own humanity is slipping farther and farther away. The supporting cast all add wonderful layers to the film and sometimes shocks us into silence. There will be plenty to talk about and discuss after the closing credits, and you should be having lots of conversations. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN is a non-compromising feature debut for Fennell and a devastatingly great film.

GRADE: A

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Emerald Fennell STARRING Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox, Alison Brie, Alfred Molina, Connie Britton, Chris Lowell, Adam Brody, Max Greenfield, Molly Shannon, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. NOW PLAYING IN SELECT THEATRES (WHERE THEATRES ARE OPEN). FOR MORE INFO: https://www.focusfeatures.com/promising-young-woman

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY // "GOOD JOE BELL" // TIFF 2020

BY MATEO MORENO

"Based on a true story" can go many ways in a film adaptation. It can be a sincere, thoughtful and honest adaption or it can be a story that barely holds onto the truth of the original tale, spinning its own fiction onto the screen. Fortunately, GOOD JOE BELL, the first film from writers Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry since Brokeback Mountain, mostly stays in the first category and weaves a sweet, honest and heartbreaking tale of a grieving family and their bullied son. Mark Wahlberg plays Joe Bell, a scruffy bearded man who's walking across America to raise awareness of bullying and the effects that it has. His son Jadin (Reid Miller) was bullied in his small town community because he was gay. As any of us who have grown up in a small town know all too well, that is indeed a crime in many people's eyes. However, Joe's not your typical "big heart doing good" character. He's, in fact, quite hard to like at many points in the film. He's the typical strong armed "macho" small town father. Yelling is how he gets things done, and barely acknowledges his family while the game is on, even if his son is trying to reach out and connect with him. A prime example is when Joe tells his son (who has pulled him away from watching the game while trying to muster the courage to come out), "The game ain't gonna watch itself."

Tragedy strikes the Bell family and Joe realizes that he ignored how bad Jadin was being bullied. So he starts his walk across American (ending in NYC, where Jadin dreams of living), to talk to people about his own personal experience and how to recognize the signs. He'll speak to anyone who will listen, from churches to schools to local gay bars. Yet he's still Joe. He hasn't radically changed, but instead is trying to use his own experience as a learning tool for others. If his story can change one family, then he will have succeeded.

Wahlberg turns in a fascinating and complex performance here, one that's definitely shadowed by the actors own past. He himself has had a history of the "macho man," so stepping into Joe's shoes feels immediately authentic and he quietly attacks the shame and anger. In fact, he doesn't let go of it after the tragedy. He explodes just as much, if not more, but wisely Wahlberg turns it mostly at himself. Joe the character and Joe the real person was complicated, and neither the actor nor the film shy away from that. He's no saint, but instead a man trying to escape his pain and regret by teaching others not to be like him. It's quietly moving and a deeply satisfying performance. Reid Miller is phenomenal as Jadin Bell. He is a beautiful soul trapped inside a backwards town that sadly doesn't see how special he truly is. He turns in a heartbreaking performance that will definitely rip you apart and put you back together again.

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green sidesteps melodrama and obvious choices that could have marred the story, and the script by Ossana and McMurtry seems to aim both at a wider audience and the more selective indie crowd. They capture an important combination of honesty and truth that makes GOOD JOE BELL shine. Sadly, the world hasn't grown much since Joe took his walk across America, but hopefully by telling stories like this and knowing stories like Jadin's we can continue to grow. The world needs more Jadin's in it. It's up to us to recognize them and support them. And love them, no matter what.

GRADE: A-

WRITTEN BY Diana Ossana, Larry McMurtry DIRECTED BY Reinaldo Marcus Green STARRING Wahlberg, Reid Miller, Connie Britton Selected as part of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. For more info: https://www.tiff.net/events/good-joe-bell