Everyone said Cassie (Mulligan) was a promising young woman…until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be: she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past in this thrilling and wildly entertaining story.
For in-depth thoughts on Promising Young Woman, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
For additional thoughts on the film, please listen to our discussion on the Homedance Film Festival Podcast here.
Video Quality
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings Promising Young Woman to 4K UHD Blu-Ray two years after initially dropping the film on Blu-Ray. While that release was pretty great, we did bemoan the fact that a physical 4K UHD release was not available at the time. The new release may not be a night and day difference in quality, but anyone who has the right setup will appreciate the gains in depth of color, encoding and crisp detail. For a movie as visually rich as this one, you crave all of this.
Perhaps the most forthright upgrade is the implementation of HDR10 for a more nuanced and accurate color palette. The film employs splashes of vivid candy colors within the costumes and production design, which makes for a very striking image. These hues pop off the screen a bit more, and flesh tones are more natural with gentle nuances showcased well in close-ups and medium shots. In addition to the colors, the transfer handles contrast exceptionally well. Black levels are more refined as they present as deep and inky, eliminating the digital noise that was present on the Blu-Ray. Highlights are likewise more brilliant and contained. The uptick in fine detail is noticeable only by degrees, but any gain is welcome nonetheless. Universal has finally given us the 4K UHD Blu-Ray we so desired, and the results are just as glorious as we could have wanted on the visual side of things.
Audio Quality
Not quite as swoon-worthy is the 4K UHD Blu-Ray audio presentation, as there seems to have been an error in the disc authoring. While there is a Dolby Atmos track listed on the packaging and the menu screen, when selected viewers get a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track. There is also a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track available as backup, but even this pales in comparison to the DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track present on the Blu-Ray release. This issue will hopefully be sorted out with a replacement program, and we will update this review if this materializes.
The best track on this disc is the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, so we will be judging it for now. Music plays an undeniable role in establishing the mood of the world, and this track does a great job of filling the room in a truly enveloping way. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever falling victim to overlapping voices or an overbearing soundtrack. Everything is mixed perfectly with directionality accurately rendered across all channels. Crowded bar scenes provide a good amount of activity in the rear channels, and music stirs up some intense activity in the low end. This track honors the spirit of the movie with a decently immersive journey that is only slightly lesser than the previous 7.1 track. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer and Director Emerald Fennell provides a commentary track recorded remotely in November 2020 in which this amazing talent breaks down all of the various aspects of the film including specific moments with the ensemble, the inspiration behind the production design, the biblical imagery within the film, building and releasing tension, the choices behind the ending of the film and more. This is such an invaluable listen to get her insights into the story.
- A Promising Vision: A four-minute featurette which explores Fennell’s reasons for wanting to make this film, her expertise behind the camera despite this being her first feature, the resonance of the film and more.
- Two-Side Transformation: A three-minute look at Cassie and Mulligan’s expert portrayal of her including her different personas, her hair and makeup and more.
- Balancing Act: A four-minute look at the razor’s edge balance of the light and dark moments within the story and how the cast tackled the material so well.
Final Thoughts
Promising Young Woman is a daring and uncompromising film that elevates the genre thanks to an impeccably executed feat of writing and direction from Emerald Fennell. Carey Mulligan delivers a career-best performance in this rich and nuanced role that rewards more and more as you analyze it further. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a dazzling video presentation along with a few interesting special features. Unfortunately, the audio track is not the correct Dolby Atmos track that is advertised, so we hope there is a replacement in the future, but the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is capable in its own right. Either way, this highlight of the early decade deserves a place in your collection in some form. Highly Recommended
Promising Young Woman can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.