I agree with
@Tom Davies . A challenging, powerful, incendiary, and provocative feature that not only doesn't pull its punches; it waits till you've recovered then sucker punches you
again and kicks you hard when you're on the ground. As a man I
did take it personally on an emotional level; and boy did it hurt when
the lovely Ryan is revealed to have been a scumbag 10 years before. It was of course predictable that this was going to happen, and I hoped they wouldn't go there. But the movie doesn't give a solitary **** what
I want, and that's one of the points. The director is taking
no prisoners.
I watched it with the Mrs with the intention of talking it over with her, and it provoked a healthy discussion both during and after. I rolled my eyes a little when Cassie gets 'cat called' by the sexist builders; and again when she gets called a 'see-you-next-tuesday' for stopping on a highway. And of course, a film about sexism wouldn't be complete without the obligatory "she's asking for it" remark. These are cliches I thought; if I saw a woman slumped over her steering wheel my instinct would be to check she's ok. This is where the '#notallmen' in me began to stir. However its also where my partner's female perspective came in handy: these things
have happened to her at some point. Cassie is a proxy for all women who have experienced these things at some stage- their experiences distilled into a single film. And it's really not interested in making sure decent men get showcased being decent.
On the subject of 'nice guys', I frequently watch some of r/niceguys videos pulled off of reddit; where absolute utter creeps try to convince women that they are somehow uniquely 'nice' among all the other dudes, and they are anything but. Never refer to yourself as a 'nice guy', its a massive red flag.
The film itself is well made, well directed and well acted especially by Mulligan and I agree with the comments saying she was appropriately cast. The scenes with Alison Brie and the college principal were highlights too; and as Tom says women don't get let off the hook in this film. Far from it. The movie is also funny, charming and quite heart-warming at times (
before all that is cruelly ripped away later on) before ending on an unexpected note. In conclusion then, I feel like I have a black eye from watching this, but it was well worth it. Definitely a film to watch with a significant other and one that makes you think. 8/10 is fair.