Entertainment

Carey Mulligan Is Hunting Rapists In This 'Promising Young Woman' Trailer

Carey Mulligan is out for revenge in the Promising Young Woman trailer. The drama stars Mulligan in the leading role of Cassie, a college dropout who spends her weekends going to clubs, pretending to be black out drunk, and putting "nice guys" to the test.

The trailer begins with Cassie sitting alone in a club, slumped over "drunk" as three men stare at her. "You know, they put themselves in danger, girls like that. You'd think you'd learn by that age, right?," one of them says. Eventually, Cassie goes home with a man, played by The O.C.'s Adam Brody. He tries to have nonconsensual sex with her, but unbeknownst to him, Cassie actually isn't drunk. She's just waiting for the perfect time to sit up and confront him: "What are you doing?"

Cassie explains in the trailer, "Every week, I go to a club. I act like I'm too drunk to stand and every week a nice guy comes over to see if I'm ok." And, more often than not, she meets a not-so-nice guy who offers to take her home, and she marks another one off in her little book. Cassie is hunting rapists and won't let anyone or anything stop her. Though it's not explicitly stated in the trailer, it's clear that she was either assaulted or knew someone who was, and that trauma has driven her to try to rid the world of these "nice guys" who are all charm until they try to hook up with a woman who is near unconscious.

If Promising Young Woman seems timely, that's because it is. A few years into the #MeToo era, and art is catching up to the discourse. The trailer itself hints that the film will tackle issues of date rape, assault on college campuses, and the justice system.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.