New Escapist Column! On How “Promising Young Woman” Gazes Back…

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. Because Promising Young Woman is garnering some awards attention, I figured it was worth a look.

Promising Young Woman is a remarkably well-constructed film. It’s a film that is very actively engaged with the idea of watching and looking – what characters choose to see, and what they choose to ignore. However, the film is also very much aware of how audiences will see the film. It is cleverly constructed in such a way as to play with the audience’s gaze, and to challenge the way that they look at the film – the way the viewer looks at its actors, its characters, and the kind of story that it is telling. It stares its audience right in the eye, and it never blinks.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.