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Archives for : Emerald Fennell

SALTBURN Interview w/ Academy Award Winner Emerald Fennell

Emerald Fennell won her first Oscar for the 2020 mystery, drama “Promising Young Woman”. Now she brings us another twisted story, this time about a lower-class outsider, desperate to fit in with his rich classmates. I had the opportunity to speak with Fennell about her new thriller, “Saltburn”.

“Saltburn” opens in theaters November 17.

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DFW Film Critics Association 2020 Award Winners

Frances McDormand in the film NOMADLAND. Photo by Joshua Richardson. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

SUMMARY OF AWARD WINNERS

2020 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association awards

BEST PICTURE

Winner: NOMADLAND

Runners-up: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2); THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (3); MINARI (4); ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (5); MANK (6); MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (7); SOUND OF METAL (8); DA 5 BLOODS (9); FIRST COW (10)

BEST ACTOR

Winner: Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Runners-up: Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL (2); Gary Oldman, MANK (3); Delroy Lindo, DA 5 BLOODS (4); Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER (5)

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Runners-up: Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND (2); Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (3); Vanessa Kirby, PIECES OF A WOMAN (4); Andra Day, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Winner: Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Runners-up: Leslie Odom Jr., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (2); Sacha Baron Cohen, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (3); Bill Murray, ON THE ROCKS (4); Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Winner: Amanda Seyfried, MANK

Runners-up: Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI (2); Helena Zengel, NEWS OF THE WORLD (3); Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (4); Olivia Colman, THE FATHER (5)

BEST DIRECTOR

Winner: Chloe Zhao, NOMADLAND

Runners-up: Emerald Fennell, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2); Regina King, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (3); David Fincher, MANK (4); Aaron Sorkin, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Winner: MINARI

Runners-up: ANOTHER ROUND (2); THE LIFE AHEAD (3); LA LLORONA (4); MARTIN EDEN (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Winner: TIME

Runners-up: DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD (2); BOYS STATE (3); THE DISSIDENT (4); CRIP CAMP (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Winner: SOUL

Runner-up: WOLFWALKERS

BEST SCREENPLAY

Winner: Emerald Fennell, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Runner-up: Aaron Sorkin, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

Runner-up: Erik Messerschmidt, MANK

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, MANK

Runner-up: James Newton Howard, NEWS OF THE WORLD

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)

Winner: MINARI

Movie Review: “Promising Young Woman” is a Provocative Revenge Thriller

Carey Mulligan stars as “Cassandra” in director Emerald Fennell’s PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

Sometimes bad people need to be taught a lesson in hopes that they won’t do their harmful acts again.

How that lesson is taught may not always be conventional. In Focus Features new drama, “Promising Young Woman”, Cassie (Carey Mulligan) is a med-school dropout who seeks revenge after a traumatizing past event.

We first meet Cassie in a bar where is she appears to be wasted, barely able to keep her head up. She attracts several predators in suits, including Jerry (Adam Brody), a “nice guy” who offers to take her home. While in the ride share, he decides to take her back to his place instead and sees an opportunity for a little date rape. Little does Jerry know that Cassie sees an opportunity, too. She is suddenly wide awake and sober; ready to make him think twice before taking advantage of another woman again.

From this point on, we discover Cassie’s objective, but don’t always see her actions after her initial trap. Director/writer, Emerald Fennell (“Killing Eve”) chooses to leave a lot of her targets’ punishments to the imagination.

Things change after a chance encounter with an old med-school classmate, Ryan (Bo Burnham). Now Cassie is smiling, laughing, and dare we say happy? But how long will this last? And will it keep her from her ultimate mission?

Not since “Hard Candy” have I enjoyed such an enticing revenge story.  Mulligan is at her best, showing such complex emotions. She varies from cold-hearted to heartbreaking. Burnham is more charming and funny than ever. And you can expect to see some surprise familiar faces that will add to this already well-casted film.

“Promising Young Woman” is a cautionary tale that would serve well in high school and college classrooms. Especially geared toward men who don’t seem to understand what consensual sexual activity means. But the film goes beyond the actions of the men responsible for the sexual assaults. It also highlights those who turn a blind eye, and even the parties responsible for defending the guilty.

One can only hope that after watching a movie like this, it will impact audiences enough to understand how damaging any form of sexual assault or harassment can be and do what they can to prevent such acts.

“Promising Young Woman” highly entertains, as it has plenty of comedic and tender moments. But also, expect certain sequences to stay with you long after the film is over. It’s disturbing in a satisfying way. This is easily one of the best movies of 2020 and a must-see.

“Promising Young Woman” opens in theaters December 25.

Rating: 4.75/5

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