Editor Frédéric Thoraval: Oscar Nominee
on Promising Young Woman

By Randi Altman

Emerald Fennell’s film Promising Young Woman can be hard to describe. “Disturbing” might be the first word that comes to mind, but it’s so much more than that — in fact, it’s essentially many types of movies in one. It begins as a revenge thriller that turns into a romantic comedy and evolves from there. The changes throughout are beautifully subtle.

The film stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, an obsessed young woman seeking revenge for her friend’s death by putting herself in harm’s way, tempting men who are prone to take advantage of a compromised young woman.

Promising Young Woman was written and directed by Fennell and deftly edited by Frédéric Thoraval, who received his first Oscar nomination for the film, as well as an ACE Eddie and BAFTA nomination.

This was Thoraval’s first collaboration with Fennell, whom he met a month before the shoot began. He describes that meeting as less an interview and more a conversation about the movie. He knew then that the two were meant to work together. Let’s find out more... (Warning: Potential spoilers ahead.)

How would you describe the pace of the film?
The script was very clear in terms of the different genres Emerald wanted to play with — the different tones every scene should have. So it was important to feel the flow of the dailies and the flow of the performances, especially Carey’s. She was our “North Star.” Cassie is the one who guides us in this story that is unravelling slowly.

From the very beginning of the movie, we tried hard to establish a strong connection with Cassie, and to keep that emotional connection with the audience until the end. If you have that, you can accept everything — the twists and turns, the changes of tones and of paces, and you can be with her on this emotional rollercoaster.

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