Promising Young Woman's SHOCKING Ending | Explained 

I know this was a pretty divisive movie for some people. I tried to address some of those complaints in this video, but it’s fine if you didn’t like it! Hopefully we can all agree that Carey Mulligan’s performance was phenominal

Honestly the fact that Bo Burnham's Character STILL went to the wedding even after he after putting together that in all likelihood the groom murdered Cassie speaks volumes to what kind of man he is.

People who didn't see Jennifer's body: Seth cohen is gonna help her People who saw Jennifer's body: oh no

"This movie HATES MEN, all the men are bad, even Best Boy Bo Burnham!" Are these people dense? The ONLY character in the film who fully acknowledged their actions and consequences, the ONLY character who received verbal forgiveness from Cassie, the ONLY character who through their redemption earned the right to _help save the day_ and get the shitheads arrested in the end... _WAS A MAN._ THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY. YOU CLODS.

I loved the movie, it's the only movie that I've ever seen that focuses on sexual assault that DOESN'T EVER SHOW THE ASSAULT

I think the context of this movie hits even harder as someone who is actually in med school. The characters weren’t college students, they were grown adults in their mid 20s when the initial events happened. And dropping out of med school is a much bigger deal than dropping out of college because it’s even more debt and years wasted, so it really puts into perspective the seriousness of what Cassie chose and how everything affected her.

As a very sexually active person who had been assaulted, there aren't enough words to convey how hopeless and alone you feel when you seek support and people basically tell you that you deserved it or maybe even liked it

The title is a reference to Brock Turner, a Stanford University student who was convicted of sexual assault in 2016. Despite his conviction, he was referred to by some as a "Promising Young Man."

I feel the ending was supposed to make us feel the anger Cassie had felt throughout the film. It was viscerally realistic and enraged me, but I have a feeling that was the point.

I love the title “Promising Young Woman”. Two promising young women’s lives were destroyed by the sexual assault.

it's not just about the assaulter. its about how everyone connected enables them. how little you have in term of support or understanding. how even the nicest, most tender dudes can have that spot in their past that they're unwilling to face, or have explained away. when it's someone you care about, it's different.

The ending is just realistic in my eyes. This happens every day to thousands of women and they're paid dust, their cases going cold.

“Just because she was prepared to lose everything doesn’t mean her parents were prepared to lose her.” Damn.

I thought that Cassie's death was symbolism of when someone is sexually assaulted. When a person chooses to assault someone it's like taking a pillow and suffocating them. Killing something within them and mentally changing them. While Al suffocates Cassie, he keeps saying this is your fault which deniers often say to survivors.

the fact the men involved still get punished for something is what saves the ending for me. Cause it would've been easy to either do the happy ending or to do the really dark ending where they get away with it, but having everyone involved lose actually feels like a satisfying ending

One of the smartest commentaries of the film was the contrast between how the general attitude towards Nina's r@pe was that it was her fault for drinking, but WITHOUT HESITATION Al is reassured that it's "not his fault" for killing Cassie...when she's literally lying dead beside him.

This movie was such a breath of fresh air to me. It was smart, had great actors, and a twist I didn't see coming. Loved it💯

I just watched this movie and I loved it. As an assault survivor I felt very represented (even as a man), and the overall pastel and femenine aesthetic just added for me. Probably this movie hit way too close, but it was like it's made for me. I even felt I healed a little bit, idk

I was date raped when I was drunk and when I told my roommate she said it wasn’t rape because it wasn’t violent enough. I told him no, I told him no, I told him no. I was in pain afterwards, but somehow not rape. I was afraid because I was drinking underage that I’d get in trouble too. So nothing happened, then about 17 years later I came to terms with it all.

So Cassie avenging a friend is "insane", but John Wick killing dozens of people for a dog is justified? Interesting. But how is Ryan not a bad guy? In his office he shows such ugliness, a gut-level reaction that can only be seen in a cornered animal. I think it shows exactly who he is at his core, even if he lies to himself that he's so great -exactly like the creeps in the bars.

I think people just prefer happy endings. When characters are in such a tough situation like this and they're rooting for them so hard, and then in the end nobody wins, their instinct is to dislike it. But it's the truth with these kinds of situations. Nobody but the lawyer showed enough remorse for her to be able to forgive and move on, so she had to deal with it some other way. Her way was revenge. It wasn't healthy and it was bound to catch up to her. She was willing to go down if it meant taking the perps down with her. They all lose. In real life you don't get a happy ending, you either learn to live with it or you don't. Nina didn't. And then Cassie didn't. These are the consequences. I'm glad this movie reflected that.

It's interesting that in the clip after Al strangles her, that his friend talks to him, tries to reassure and comfort him with the sort of language people should be using when someone tells them they were assaulted "this is not your fault"

This movie was incredible, and as a woman who has experienced men taking advantage of her....I fully was disturbed by how the men thought they weren't doing anything wrong at all.

you know what I really liked about the movie? we don't see nina once. we don't have any idea how she looked like. we know her so much and end up loving her so much because of how cassie loves and misses her, but she don't even have a casting actress, for a flashback scene or whatever. this movie is so deep, I love it

I cant believe that message said, "there are no good male characters" as if all movies ever haven't avoided having good female characters 😂

Coffee ✍️ spitting ✍️ is ✍️ flirting ✍️

This isn't necessarily just related to this movie, but I have noticed a trend of male viewers watching movies with men who are antagonistic to women (whether they are villains or not) and talking about how it's cartoonish and a hollow jab at men. And then when women watch the same movie, they can relate because they've been treated like that before. It's such a blatant example of not listening to victims. Don't get me wrong, there ARE films that handle it wrong and make men into cartoonish symbols of sexism. But a theres a good chunk of the time where that's not the case and they get the same reviews anyway. Again, I don't think that's what made this movie in particular decisive and I didn't see any comments along these lines for this film. I'm just speaking on movies in general and this video made me think of that lol

The whole time I was confused when everyone would say“we were kids” , they were in med school, it was 7 years ago. Not that long ago. As if they can’t remember anything from that time.

Honestly a movie about a women killing or at least mutilating evil rapists would've been kinda cool, like a female death wish or john wick, but the way they did it is infinitely better. It's at the very least satisfying that justice got served, unlike unfortunate cases irl

The absurd horror at the centre of the film is that everyone except Cassie seems to be doing everything in their power to avoid acknowledging the simple truth that what happened to Nina happened, it was horrible, it was a crime. Al is the prepetrator, but to avoid acknowledging that truth, everyone goes out their way to make themselves complicit in his crime. For Cassie, to "let it go" is to become complicit. Yeah there is that brief moment of hope when at least, at LEAST, one person, the scumbag lawyer, is willing to acknowledge the the truth. And it is almost enough, maybe she can live now that someone else knows and she doesn't have to carry the truth all by herself. But then the video, and the truth is more horrible than she'd even imagined, and the complicity is even more insidious, and so all of her options disappear. As far as Cassie can see, there is no way to exist in this world without confronting the truth head on. And this world is so deeply complicit in protecting it's perpetrators that it will not allow Cassie to do so. It sucks. I hate it. But damn. I can't imagine a different ending that would do justice to the story they were telling. The only criticisms I really have it how underutilised Laverne Cox was, and how there are some issues regarding sex workers and stigma that would impact how Cassie's murder was treated by police.

I didn’t necessarily think her ventures gained notoriety-I thought the line about the woman with the scissors was Cassie planting a seed of paranoia to protect other women

The "don't rock the boat" mentality sometimes is the worst offender cause invalidates the survivor's pain and shield the abuser from any form of consequence; while the revenge fantasy can be catarthic it really doesn't add to the conversation and stop at "r*pe is bad".

Carey Mulligan needs to win an Oscar for Promising Young Woman

Oh my god, the point you made about the ‘dead stripper’ scene being something you might see in a Hangover movie is SPOT ON. It’s exactly the description of what the trivialization of violence against women in media looks like.

Any man who looks at this and thinks it's misandrist in the slightest, needs to rethink how they look at, (and possibly treat) women.

I’m personally glad that Cassie is a kind of a self destructive character. I think it’s a lot more realistic. I know if I lost my best friend in circumstances like this, I would probably spiral just like Cassie does. I think it’s a good representation of how violence against women has ripple effects throughout our society and and how it leads us to continue to hurt each other.

Why does that last quote from the actress immediately spark something in me... The continuous portrayal of women in media as "insane" or "crazy" when actually their actions and words have sense and logic and intent is just so jarring to me. John Wick is literally a movie about a grieving husband going on a murderous rampage with little foresight for what was done to his dog, and no one has anything to say about insanity or mental health in that case... Anyways, great video as always, will def check out the movie!

i truly felt that the ending was imperfectly perfect. cassie's end was realistic and the fact that she cared about nina so much to lose everything was what stood out to me the most. i felt like giving each character flaws and making them realistic is why this movie is so divisive, since people see parts of themselves on screen that they don't typically enjoy.

This Movie is not about hating men, this movie is about the rape culture. And how normalized this culture is. I really hope some men realized this culture and change their mindset .

I ADORED this film. As a survivor myself I found the descriptions of “your name surrounding her” to be so true. That’s fully how it feels. And Mulligan’s acting is incredible. Her choices are so specific and clear and he intentions are always present. I can’t recommend it more.

I want to point out that Nina and Cassie can be read as soulmates (the necklace she wears is Nina's), and without her she wasn't going to live. She explained at the her profound admiration and love (platonic, not romantic) for the long gone friend. She suspended her life forever because Nina's death, and is so poetically cruel that Cassie dies in the hands of the man who took her Nina away, but at the same time, Al will always carry her name in the same way Nina carried his name.

Y’all know her and John Wick would probably see eye to eye. If he’s not crazy, neither is she

During uni I had been assaulted so many times, even by friends. I don’t think I’ve ever properly met a woman who hasn’t been. Men don’t realise how much creeps their friends are, and don’t realise the impact it has on a person, so they’re just very ignorant of it. this movie seems to portray that so perfectly; It portrays the effects of assault more realistically than films are afraid to do, because films are often afraid to say that men need to be better - even the ones that don’t assault women

I don't know if I can see this movie. I was abused by my teacher on my 4rth year of medschool. I was not drunk, I was wearing scrubs, and after that I told my female peer that also had classes with him to be careful. She told me I was just asking for it. I was so depressed and sacred I didn't tell an authority figure (he was more important than I at the hospital so I would be the one to loose the fight and I didn't want to face the trauma again, have everyone else gang against me or telling me it was my fault) sad thing is that it happens all the time in my old college to other girls. I am ok now, I have a husband and 2 cats, I was depressed for a looong time though. Sorry for the bad English

The scene were Cassie is walking back home, stops & looks nonstop straight to the guys catcalling her, was really powerful... it states her character as fearless and no bs tolerant... I enjoyed this movie even as I cried while they show us her screams at the end. The Lawyer is the only one who seems to get his soul back through regret, apologizing & making up for his previous fail. Overall, excellent movie!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

They nailed it. My friends & I had a rule that 1 would stay sober to protect the others. At a party, my BFF got drunk & a boy took her to his room & locked the door. I knocked until he opened it to say she was fine, revealing her half nude & unconscious body on the floor. He locked me out, so I climbed his balcony & using his ceramic bunny statue, I broke through his glass patio door & knocked him out. I threw her over my shoulder & ran to my car, yelling at our other drunk friend to follow. My BFF actually hated me for it, but I knew I couldn't live with myself if I didn't save her. Damn, if I hadn't I'd be just like this character, I'm sure.

I can see why some dislike the ending. It's pretty disturbing and unexpected, which may have led to some of the negative reactions to it. But I think it's PERFECT for what the movie's going for.

Spoilers if anyone doesn't want to have ending ruined Honestly Al getting arrested during his wedding is a beautiful ending for it. He's arrested in public in front of people who like him and a woman who thinks he's the one. Then he gets arrested in front of them all so even if he gets out they won't want to be connected to him anymore.

As a survivor, I noticed IMMEDIATELY how the death scene had parallels to sexual assault. It was a raw and brilliant way to discuss the violence of the act itself - the literal suffocating nature of being overpowered - and make it the longest take of the movie (the second being the foreboding march to the party). It is difficult to depict the violence of r*pe without accidentally (or intentionally) fetishizing or sensationalizing the act itself; sometimes films trying to create a meaningful and emotional impact (such as the original I Spit On Your Grave, for example) veer into exploitative territory. It's complicated. There's a long history in art of violence against women being framed erotically, so it takes thoughtful framing and breaking film conventions to navigate the blurry lines of violence, sex, and femininity - and this film excels at that. Maybe someday we'll get a film where a regular woman can have her revenge AND get to enjoy it, but I'm so glad we at least now have a film that has found ways to portray the horrors of r*pe without exploitative conventions. I think that's a big first step, and I hope it will inspire future film creators to get innovative with their own approaches to a difficult topic.

The moment that she stared down the construction workers was incredible

I do find the ending hit so hard also because "realistically" (Due to the age of the case and how the justice system works) it's tragically unlikely that even if she had been able to prove what truly happened, those rapists would most likely still not have been brought to justice. But for murder? They would. Atleast that's something I ended up thinking about at the end.

me before this movie: BO BURNHAM IS THE ONLY MAN I TRUST BO BURNHAM IS THE ONLY MAN I TRUST me after this movie: I wanna die

It seems like a fitting ending though. No one is fully the “good guy” and no one really wins but the bad guys get caught and there are consequences to their actions.

I actually love the ending, not the fact that she didn't get a happy end but that it was realistic. She was a woman going into a house of men and she knew there was a good chance she wouldn't make it. I just love that it all feels genuine and I don't have to search for an explanation for any of it

Honestly, she just hit me as a woman anti-hero. Like, a real anti-hero in the sense the same way men in media get to be all the time instead of the usual redeemed put upon woman with a character arc and cathartic revenge that we usually pass off as an anti-hero when a man in her role would just be called a plain old hero in a dark situatuon.

I wonder if it’s the honesty of the ending that has shaken so many people. Something we learn growing up as females it’s that statistically we are overwhelmingly more likely to be the victims of a sexual assault. If that assault is carried out by a male, then physically, there is realistically f*ck all we can do to stop it. It’s a very powerful ending to the film that has left me with a lot of thoughts on how our world works and I can’t yet find the right words to express how it made me truly feel. I don’t think I have watched a film that made me think so much in a long time.

SPOILERS One of the things I'm still thinking about after watching this movie is mostly how I went into this expecting a revenge movie, and while it definitely clears the bar for the bare minimum of a female revenge story, it is ultimately not one, or at least I don't think it is completely. I was a bit disappointed when it turned out that she wasn't some serial killer or that her revenge plots weren't focused entirely on destroying her targets lives(apart from the lawyer who I assume she tried to have him killed before changing her mind? though I wouldn't be surprised if she had something else in mind) because that was what I was expecting to see...but in the end, the revenge isn't exactly the point. She is so consumed by grief, rage and emptiness because people absolutely ignore everything that happened. For the same reason why Cassie didn't want to kill the rapist in the end, or set the entire place on fire with the men inside, or actually have the headmistress's daughter assaulted, because she didn't want to get her revenge on them, she wanted them to see how much their actions and ignorance destroyed people's lives. The lawyer saw that, and she gave him a second chance. She let Bo's character walk, even if she could have ruined him completely, and he only suffered because of the choices he still made afterwards(lying to the police officer about her whereabouts). She doesn't hurt the nice guys who are about to assault her every week, doesn't report them, mostly because she goes out every week to remind herself about all this, because she saw the truth and she can't unsee it now like the rest of the world does. Not even Nina's mom wants to face what happened, everyone just wants to move on and get over it, but Cassie can't. In the end, her actions force the people who closed their eyes for so long to see the truth of their actions, and I think ultimately it is a movie about truth and consequences more than revenge. Justice.

Although really uncomfortable to watch, I also think it was important to kill Cassie to show she was not invincible so that other women don't feel 'inspired' to put their lives at risk in order to make justice with their own hands. I had a hard time believing Cassie could get away so easily with turning against those men just by throwing some harsh words and evil gaze at them, but unfortunately, by the end of the movie when her character dies, everything became more plausible. Again, I am not happy she died, I just felt it make all the risks she took throughout the story more believable.

Men get really offended when you do something like this and don’t hammer home the point of “not all men”... yet us women have to worry about everything else that goes on. Men are scared of being falsely accused, were scared of being Nina.

as i was watching the ending when Al kills her i just kept thinking no she’s smart she planned for this and she’s faking. she’ll pop up and still be alive and she’ll get her revenge. and i was right. she did plan for that to happen and she did pop up and her memory will live on in those she leaves behind, both good and bad, and she did get her revenge. she just won’t be around for it

I’ve known a horrible monster in college who hurt a lot of girls... sadly I was more angry at the school rather than that turd because they only asked him for an essay for the things he did... a f*cking piece of paper.

I feel like Cassie sorta accepted vengeance as the point of her life. Like as an individual, she's devoted herself to trying to satisfy her survivor's guilt for so long that she doesn't know who she might be without it. It became her life's work, her reason to keep breathing. Once it was done, she was done.

I think this movie really hits because growing my mom was very paranoid of something happening to me because she was raped in her own home and 4 out of the 5 people in her group were raped one or more times. So I’ve always kinda knew how deeply it effects the person who was assaulted even after 30 years. And it’s very frustrating how people try to by past this subject because they don’t want to hear it or “I won’t do that so why should I care” especially when most women are sexually degraded in some way by the age of 13.

The use of "Toxic" was epic

Really liked it, felt all the "Twists" including what happened to Cassie, were logical. Shocking initially, but unfortunately very realistic.

I tried to get evidence of my ex by talking to him as if I was "completely fine and still in love" and he would hint at it but would NEVER explicitly say what he did. I remember how frustrating it was that he knew what he did, referred to it, asked me not to go to the police, yet he still wouldn't full on say what he did so It ended up just being a waste of my time and just caused me more hurt than good . I really like that they had trouble getting him to admit what he did seriously. That was a good decision in the movie.

Just watched it 2 days ago - it blew me away. It's the most powerful attack on rape culture I'm aware of. While I think the wedding revenge scene is a little too neat, and isn't really plausible, I'm willing to forgive it. But imagine if that scene was removed, and the film ended with Cassie simply gone, dead, forgotten. I think it would have made the message of the film even more devastating. Also, while this movie doesn't accuse ALL men, I think it does say clearly that the issue affects all men, and affects every cishet romantic relationship. That's why Bo Burnham was portrayed as literally the most perfect man imaginable - until suddenly he wasn't.

This was a fantastic psychological piece. I mean so many factors in play. Sucha a mind fuck. The ending was realistic. Fucked. But realistic. Too many victims, in one way or the other don't get justice. The death of our protagonist was unexpected but brilliant in retrospect.

Why are men more upset by being portrayed as rapists than like actual rapists???

That violin version of Toxic going into the end 💁🏻‍♀️ *chefs kiss*

Honestly the ending was one of the best parts of the movie for me, because they didn't follow a formula and give a feel-good ending. It would have been a great movie even if they did, but sometimes life isn't fair, and even if you have the best intentions, you don't always have luck on your side. I actually saw half of the video and quickly rushed to watch the movie before continuing, it truly blew me away :D

This movie wasn’t at all what I expected it to be. I thought I was going in for an avenging angel type of movie where Cassie was going to be a vigilante figure pulling elaborate schemes on her targets such as drain their bank accounts or release their sex tapes but this movie was more of a psychological thriller than anything else. I thought I was going into a Killing Eve Season 1 Phoebe Waller Bridge type of movie but it was more like a Killing Eve Season 2 type of movie. Which makes sense since Emerald Fennell WAS the showrunner of Killing Eve Season 2 where she stripped away a lot of the flashier revenge elements from season 1 to focus more on psychological warfare, twisted mind games and realistic violence. This movie really didn’t hold back with anything and I really respect the hell out of it. Especially the ending because I’ve seen a lot of movies and tv shows in my life so shocking me is about as rare as a blue moon but that ending shook me to my core, it was very ballsy and I think it worked.

Promising Young Woman made me feel so gross at times, and I didn't always agree with the actions she took, but I loved it so much. The biggest things that I loved were her different reactions to the people who were around that tragic event in college, and how the movie made me feel as a woman. There were times when she confronted men and I got so scared and anxious seeing her body in contrast to theirs. Most were taller than her and Carey Mulligan is so slight, and she kept being antagonistic when she confronted them...I was so anxious they'd hurt her. And as a very short woman, it hit really close to home. I just hope there are men who saw SOMETHING in the film

Promising Young Woman is a actually my favourite movie. From the first time I watched it, I loved how it diverted expectations and put the suffering back on those who protected the abuser. The fact that Cassie died in the end kinda proves that no matter how hard you try, abuse still happens in the world.

This movie did the impossible, make me hate a character played by Bo Burnham.

I finished watching the movie 40 minutes ago, so it is all pretty raw .... wow... I have been waiting for this movie for such a long time, I expected a bloodbath, I expected a different ending, and I was gutted at that one scene.... and I was watching in disbelief those final scenes... I thought that the system would win again. And I seriously stared crying when the sirens arrived. What a rollercoaster.

I loved this film but it broke my heart - I sat and cried for ages after watching it. Highly recommend it for anyone who wouldn't be triggered by themes of sexual assault.

One of the best movies I've seen in years - felt like a horror film, but no gore, no sexually explicit or exploitative scenes, and entirely due to chillingly good performances and the raw authentic treatment of the subject matter. Spent $20 to rent and will likely spend $20 to buy. Love your review, as per usual.

SPOILER The only gripe I have is if her body was set on fire, her body would still be there, extremely charred, but still there. It takes ALOT to cremate a body, and unfortunately it was the only thing that took me out of the movie. I recommend Ask a Mortician's video about Gram Parsons who's friends tried to "cremate" him in the desert and failed.

I loved and truly adored this movie right up until the end. I know that the director thought the ending was realistic, and I agree, but at the same time I wanted more. Decades and decades of media deifies and reinforces victimhood, and pushes the idea that victims and the people who care about them are to move on and pushed to forgive and forget their abusers. We haven't been allowed to feel our rage. We tell, and retell the old adage that revenge is a dead end path. I loved that the movie communicates in a way that isn't triggering, it doesn't use the R word, it doesn't show anything terribly graphic. At the end of the day, as a victim of sexual abuse, I just want a movie that doesn't push trauma porn AND has the ending that some of us fantasize about. From an analysis of Jennifer's Body: "no one asks to be made into a monster, but no one should be surprised when the monster of their creation invites herself over for dinner."

When you go for revenge you have to dig two graves. She couldn't get justice for her friend, but she could make sure they got justice for both of them. She recognized her limitations and worked with them...

People always glean over that Ryan doesn't take no for an answer when he asks Cassie out. She even softens to it.

This movie was uncomfortable because of how real it was, like the men telling her over and over that she was so beautiful when they were taking advantage of her, and the guy turning on her and saying she was unattractive when he realized who she was. Also, I have to say, as much as I love Max Greenfield, he kinda of took me out of the movie a bit. It was hard to take his character seriously

The best way of describing the people who think this is " men are bad " basically are saying that men need to be coddle in order for soceity to continue. That's pretty pathetic

What I really liked was how they wrote the way Cass seeks revenge. She’s not just hurting/scaring people in random ways to get back at them, what she’s doing is forcing them to confront their own crimes and their role in rape culture. Every single revenge she enacts-from her grand revenge plot, to her weekly outings in clubs and bars, to tiny moments like when she confronted those cat callers-was deliberate and calculated. By making them confront what it is they actually did and the harm that their actions cause, she forces them to face the fact that they’re not actually as innocent or as nice as they think they are.

Would love a hunter hunter breakdown from ya. Talk about BRUTAL endings.

I loved this movie, I loved that the movie casted predominantly comedic/like-able actors as the main antagonists of the story, makes the gut punch of their awfulness that much more powerful. The part with Molina was so visceral and emotional, honestly everyone’s performances were amazing

I studied film in college, and as you were explaining the events in the film i was able to figure out what would happen next.. UNTIL YOU GOT TO THAT ENDING HOLY CRAP THATS BALLSY FOR A CREATOR. THAT ladies and gents is how you make a twist ending. Sure the text messages is a little deus ex for my liking ( i think it could've been more powerful if they didn't know it was coming) but the guts to kill off your main character and still have runtime and even better to make it almost "comedically dark" and not so "fallen hero, what can we learn from this angel's passing". Just.. Amazing, love that.

Thank you so much for putting me on to this movie!! It was very triggering for me as someone who experienced sexual assault while bystanders didn’t help. The story was definitely hard to get through at times but I’m grateful it was made. Very compelling and thought-provoking. And the music was so good!!

I was numbly accepting of the ending because that's a story we've heard a million times before, BUT THEN those last 3 minutes come and HOLY SHIT I cried like a baby, the catharsis I felt was so overwhelming I couldn't compose myself for a while

When she told Al she’d get used to the cuffs! Omg the foreshadowing!

as infuriating as it is, the scene where al's friend comforts him after killing cassie is strangely brilliant. when someone is raped, people always try to make it about how the rapist's life is ruined, how tragic it is that his victims dare call attention to his crime, and while al never did anything like that to cassie watching him be comforted while her CORPSE is right next to him feels so symbolic of that

this film reminds me a lot of hard candy, and while there is more of a "happy" ending for the protagonist it's still gut wrenching. i'll look into watching this when i get a chance too

This is an AMAZING movie. Honestly, I think everything went as Cassie planned. ALL OF IT - I believe she left the cuffs loose on purpose. I really wish Carey had won the Oscar for this because the screenplay was phenomenal on its own (no other nominee was even remotely close imo), but it needed the right actress, someone skilled enough to pull off making Cassie feel real and not just some sort of cartoonish vengeful villain...not to mention she was completely playing against type here. I didn't even recognize her when I first saw the trailer; I honesly, truly thought it was Rachel McAdams (whom I actually like a lot, but BOY, am I glad it wasn't)

I cried for my girls who had to go through this, please take care of yourselves♥️

When a movie makes ppl so polarizing, you know it is touching on something in the society that is a huge issues.

Really appreciated this analysis. Initially, I was disappointed that there were no through-and-through good male characters, but I quickly realized that would defeat some of the profound points of the movie. Problematic behavior and attitudes toward women are still included (or at least considered acceptable) within our cultural definition of "good men". This allows all men, even the nice funny ones that tend to children's health for a living, to be complicit with or guilty of misogynistic behavior. The ending was obviously bitter sweet, but honestly most of the movie was. Cassie was constantly putting herself in dangerous and self-harmful situations, and it finally didn't go her way, and she seemed prepared for something like that all along.

i was so ready for the miserable 'she dies and he goes on and lives a long and happy life and never experiences consequences' ending, and then angel of the morning starts to play. probably one of the best endings to a movie i've ever seen. I feel like I can replay it beat for beat in my head, it's so memorable

For anyone who loved the movie and likes to read, " The Female of The Species" by Mindy McGinnis has a very similar premise and is truly a phenomenal read. I read it about four years ago and still think about it and the main character Alex at least once a week

Thank you for explaining imprinting