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A14 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 24 december 2020
Rage, reckoning come to forefront in 'Promising Young Woman'

By LINDSEY BAHR ing actors who we already
Emerald Fennell wanted to identify as good, who we
write about female rage. have crushes on, who we
Before #MeToo became think are really funny and
ubiquitous, she had been cute and great or women
thinking about complacen- who we feel like are our
cy and the teen movies of best friends or somebody
her youth where consent who we would go to in an
was often little more than emergency...that's when
a throwaway joke. That's you start to make the au-
when the idea for her au- dience a little bit complicit
dacious debut " Promising or at least stretch their alle-
Young Woman," out Friday, giances."
started to take shape. "Promising Young Woman"
There wouldn't be a ma- is perfectly suited to the
chete or a machine gun moment, but just as the
involved, as there often is #MeToo reckoning didn't
in movies about women start with the Harvey Wein-
seeking revenge. And it stein articles, Fennell's dis-
wouldn't be a dour weep- gust with the "completely
ie either. Instead, her film and utterly twisted culture
would be inviting and col- of seduction" she grew up
orful with a pop soundtrack around had been brew-
and a likable cast. And her ing for some time. It's no
protagonist Cassie, played Actors Carey Mulligan, from left, Bo Burnham and writer/director Emerald Fennell pose for a por- surprise that it has struck
by Carey Mulligan, would trait to promote their film "Promising Young Woman" during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, a nerve and it's bound to
be the scariest of all aveng- Utah on Jan. 25, 2020. keep people talking into
ers: A real woman. Associated Press the new year as the gen-
"I think comedy is usually eral public finally gets an
the best way of communi- Mulligan wouldn't fight to seeing it for the kind of dis- And it wasn't a coinci- opportunity to see it.
cating anything really dif- make her nice. turbing truth that it is as op- dence that many of them "You want to be a part of
ficult," Fennell said. "I want- "She's an enormously subtle posed to a sort of odd trivi- are comedians. a film that people will think
ed to make a film that was and enigmatic performer alization." "It's very easy to be villain- about and won't just sort
accessible to everyone, and very grounded," Fen- The supporting cast is ous in a kind of sexy way. of hang up and move on
that would say like, 'OK, nell said. "Because the packed with familiar faces It's quite difficult to be from!" Mulligan said. "But I
come in, everyone's wel- movie is sort of allegorical like Bo Burnham, Jennifer weak and lazy and pa- think what's so great about
come. But, sorry, now that and heightened it really Coolidge, Adam Brody, thetic and misogynistic in a it is that this is a film that
you're here, the doors are needed the person playing Alison Brie, Laverne Cox, Al- sort of ill-thought out way. you want to see, you don't
locked.'" Cassie to feel completely fred Molina, Connie Britton, The great thing about co- feel like you ought to." One
Cassie dropped out of med real." Molly Shannon and Max medians in general is they of the most extraordinary
school after something Mulligan didn't hesitate Greenfield, to name a few. think about this stuff all things about something
traumatic happened and to sign on and was tak- Mulligan said the quick the time. They're very self- as assured as "Promising
now works at a coffee shop en aback recently when 23-day-shoot felt like a re- aware and very eager to Young Woman" is that it
in the day and goes out to someone asked if she had volving door of excellent find those awkward, funny, was Fennell's first time di-
bars at night appearing to any trepidation around actors who would often be nasty spaces," Fennell said. recting a film. But the actor
be blind drunk. It's only af- playing a "controversial there for a day or less. "It's also incredibly useful (she plays Camilla Parker
ter she's gone home with role." "The writing was so strong if you're making a film like Bowles in "The Crown"), writ-
supposed "good guys" that "There is literally nothing and everyone just wanted this where you want to talk er and "Killing Eve" showrun-
she reveals she is quite the controversial about this," to be in it," Mulligan said. about good people do- ner was steadfast in her vi-
opposite. Fennell knew Mulligan said. "We're just "There's no empty role." ing bad things. If you're us- sion. q

NYT's 'Caliphate' podcast withdrawn as Pulitzer finalist

NEW YORK (AP) — A high- about a Canadian man the citation and the Pulit-
profile podcast on terrorism who said he had carried zer Prize Board accepted
from The New York Times out atrocities for the Islam- the offer," The Times said in
that had been a finalist for ic State in Syria, had been an email to The Associated
a Pulitzer Prize was with- named as a finalist in the Press. The paper had pre-
drawn as a contest entry international reporting cat- viously said it would return
in the wake of the newspa- egory for 2019, which was a Peabody award it had
per saying the claims of a won by Reuters and The As- won for "Caliphate," and
man central to "Caliphate" sociated Press. the Overseas Press Club of
could not be verified. But the Times said last week America said it was taking
In a statement on Tuesday, that, after the man was ar- back an honor it had be-
the board of the Pulitzer rested in Canada in Sep- stowed on the podcast.
Prizes said it "accepted tember for perpetrating The story's central reporter,
This June 22, 2019 file photo
shows the exterior of the New withdrawal of the entry as a terrorist hoax, it investi- Rukmini Callimachi, will be
York Times building in New an appropriate resolution gated and the man's story reassigned off the terror-
York. of this matter." didn't hold together. ism beat, the newspaper
Associated Press The 2018 podcast series, "We volunteered to return said.q