A timely and bitingly smart revenge thriller that showcased a Carey Mulligan in a career-best performance that will surely propel her towards the front of the Best Actress race. Mulligan was smart, gorgeous, vulnerable and sympathetic all rolled into one, and each little gesture, glare and tick of the lips conveyed so much knowingness and depth. This was a complex character brought amazingly to riveting life by the subtle nuances of Mulligan and it is hard to imagine another actress playing this role (maybe except a young Nicole Kidman during To Die For which this film clearly related to).
In addition, this was also a tremendous feature film debut for writer/director Emerald Fennell that clearly portends an exciting future ahead. The writing was smart and clever, and the directing assured albeit a bit derivative but the potential was clearly there. Fennel amassed a great supporting cast around Mulligan, especially Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox, Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown, Connie Britton and Alison Brie. They all brought their own individual distinctiveness to their characters that allowed them to shine. In particular, Burnham and Mulligan had great chemistry together and it was easy to ship them.
Fennell created a Wes Anderson-esque film filled with symmetry and awashed in pastel hues. The pacing was smooth but overall it could have been just a bit tighter. At just under two hours, Fennell could have trimmed another 10 minutes off to really tighten up the story and focused a bit more on showing than telling to get the exposition across. Regardless, she did peppered the script with a lot of great one-liners, delivered with dry aplomb by Mulligan mostly. There is a real possibility that the smart script, coupled with the originality and timeliness of the film could score Fennell a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Another highlight of the film was Fennell's music choices. Together with Anthony Willis, they have curated a pop-soundtrack filled with girl-powered themes and remixes of classic hits that drove and teased the narrative. Britney's Toxic had never sounded so titillatingly ominous.
Mulligan's Best Actress Oscar nomination is a sure thing, and for now, she is definitely my front runner. An utterly entertaining and intelligent film that just went slightly beyond expectations which made it exciting and satisfying to watch.
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