Quite possibly the single most important film of 2020.

This is a film that feels a maddeningly long time coming. It's ferocious, astonishingly impactful and ever necessary. And it's brilliantly constructed to present the same glossy mirage its leading heroine weaponizes while espousing the cold destructive truth in its reality.

As the titular Promising Young Woman, Carey Mulligan is a perfect avatar for unheard women everywhere, channeling a disarmingly charming veneer and the tempestuous vengeance beneath it with immensely effective power. Mulligan's partnership with Emerald Fennell proves exhilarating, something that is all the more impressive given how masterful first time helmer Fennell runs her show.

This is a brutal, brutal film to experience, precisely because of how grounded it feels despite its initially familiar revenge story presentation. It lures you with its stylish, vicarious invitation but by the time it harrowingly throttles you until you're left shaken, you feel the severity of its truth. If you have a soul, this is going to hurt you in ways many movies couldn't. It's a good pain, though because with it comes a comfort to knowing this film's existence will make men think twice before acting with what they think will be impunity. I won't be able to stop thinking about it for some time and I hope to God that neither can everyone else who watches it.

Best Served Cold.