As of yet, I’ve seen nearly every big ticket nominated movie this year - The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Mank remain on my watchlist, but I’ll get to them eventually. Still, of most of the movies I’ve seen, I’ve really enjoyed them. Sadly, that is not the case today. Promising Young Woman and Nomadland were two of the most highly anticipated films of the year, and neither of them managed to strike me the way they did other audiences. That’s not a slight on their directing or acting, as both films enjoy serious star-power both in front of and behind the camera. It’s simply a matter of certain parts of the film not working, enough parts to damage the film as a whole.

Promising Young Woman tells the story of Cassie, a vigilante who hunts down sexual predators by pretending to be drunk at bars and then confronting whoever attempts to take advantage of her. Marketed as a “rape-revenge thriller,” Promising Young Woman was, well, promising. Reviews called the comedy "electric" and the twists "thrilling" and raved over leading woman Carey Mulligan’s performance. As such, I was really thrilled to see the price to rent it drop down, and I was extremely excited to watch it. That was until I actually did watch it.

Visually, Promising Young Woman was mainly bubble-gum pink, poppy, and pastel, a nice contrast to the darkness of the story. I really liked the color palette - it was bright and fun, and so girly that that aforementioned contrast really worked. Cassie’s rainbow wig in the last scene, in her Britney Spears Toxic music video style outfit, showcases the color scheme of the movie easily. Color is a massive part of the movie, and I think that Fennell was successful in the deliberate color incorporation. Performance-wise, Promising… was top-notch. Carey Mulligan is a really brilliant actress, and she was perhaps the best part of the movie. She took a screenplay that just was not the tightest and made it work somehow- it was entirely her show. Even then, the mainly nice direction, the beautiful color palette, and the sheer boldness of Mulligan’s performance weren’t enough to save Promising Young Woman for me. The issue, as spoiler-free as I can be, lies entirely within the flawed screenplay. A movie that seems on the surface-level as though it’ll be empowering to women still ends with at least two women dead, and an ending that has negated itself at every point in the script. (Without giving anything away, I’ll give you a hint-  it all places too much faith in a system that fails rape victims time and time again.)

Promising Young Woman could’ve been something great, had it not cut itself down at every turn. It had the potential, it really did, but it didn’t work. Perhaps the largest grievance is the fact that Cassie’s whole “scaring off predators” scheme really only involves giving them a strong talk, then leaving and...trusting them to be better? That’s the main plotline of the movie, and it’s so deeply flawed and borderline ridiculous, considering Cassie’s motivations and backstory. Ultimately, Promising Young Woman bit off a little more than it could chew - or rather, it wrote itself into something more grandiose than it could handle.

Nomadland’s root flaw isn’t too different, honestly. While Nomadland’s plot is far different - it follows Fern (played by the lovely Frances McDormand), a woman in her sixties who embarks as a modern-day nomad in the American West after losing everything in the recession - it’s got the same problem with its plot. Or rather, its lack of plot. 

Nomadland doesn’t really have a plot. It’s one of those “nothing really happens here” movies, which would make sense if we were meant to be seeing the mundanity of life. But we’re not. Fern’s life and travels through the West are supposed to be exciting, or at least captivating, considering we are watching her adjust to life as a nomad and all of the issues that carries. But the problem, when you get right down to it, is that Nomadland is just boring. It’s just showing life, and sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Here, it simply doesn’t. And that pains me to say because I was so excited for Nomadland. I love Frances McDormand (in Fargo especially), and Chloé Zhao received great praise for the film. Still, something in me just didn’t click with Nomadland, as disappointed as I was to find that.

But Nomadland, despite it being not for me, is by no means bad. I firmly believe that Zhao gives perhaps some of the best directing of the year - the movie is gloriously stunning. I really cannot articulate the beauty of every tracking shot, of every still frame of a setting desert sun, of the joy on Fran’s face as she takes it all in. It’s almost devastatingly beautiful, enough so that the pretty scenery almost made up for my boredom. Almost. Boredom aside, I would love to see a win for Zhao for her direction - a win made equally sweeter by the fact that Zhao is the first Chinese woman to be nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. She’s a fabulous director, and I can only hope that the next work to come from her is something that I adore.

I’ll try to keep this brief, but I’d be doing a disservice to Nomadland if I didn’t mention its cast. Save for McDormand and a few others, much of the cast is made up of real nomads who play fictional versions of themselves. Even then, their acting is so natural that you can hardly tell - nothing is gimmicky, nothing is awkward. Everything is genuine and true, because the stories being told are true. The supporting cast is really fantastic, and McDormand is obviously excellent. Even for playing such a quiet role, she shines. (I read a joke that said that McDormand has her polite smile-and-nod down. It’s true.) Every fibre of her lives and breathes Fern, enough that I forgot that I was even watching McDormand - everything was Fern. That’s more than enough to tell me that McDormand’s never going to lose her magic touch. At this point, I think every one of her performances will be great - and I’m certainly not complaining.

Promising Young Woman: B-. This one just did not work for me. Still, Carey Mulligan was sensational, and most of Fennel’s directing was solid. A special shout out to the editing, which I remember liking quite a bit. (And Jennifer Coolidge, who plays a meager part, but still made me go, “Jennifer Coolidge!” every time she was on screen, which is worth it to me.) Despite all of that, its flaws outweigh its beauty, and a B- is definitely deserved.

Nomadland: B+. Beautifully directed, with great performances. However, the whole thing felt sort of tedious and boring. Still, I’m pulling for Zhao and a Best Director win. 

Promising Young Woman is available on most VOD rental services. Nomadland is available on Hulu and most VOD rental services.