Carey Mulligan on memorising lines and calling out industry misogyny
British actor Carey Mulligan gained prominence for her outstanding performances in various stage and film productions – including Drive, The Great Gatsby, Suffragette, and Promising Young Woman.
The latter received five Oscar nominations in 2021, one of which went to Mulligan for ‘Best Actress’. Mulligan has been hailed as one of the most versatile actors of a generation, often opting to play complex and compelling characters on-screen. She cites the appeal of playing the unlikeable character, enjoying the challenges of diving into the dynamics of human emotions and experiences.
Mulligan is not one to go for the obvious when unpacking a character, and within Promising Young Woman, revenge would have been too on-the-nose. “I’m not looking to play characters that feel easy,” Mulligan told Backstage. “With Cassie, it became clear that the film was much more about loyalty and sisterhood, and the bond between women in the way that you would go into battle with your best friend. We don’t really examine those kinds of relationships that much on screen”.
In addition to immersing herself in the essence of every character she embodies, Mulligan recently shared some tricks of the trade when it comes to memorising lines. “I write them out,” she says, “I get the script and I cover up my line and write it, and I don’t reveal my line until I’ve remembered it. I’ll just do that over and over again”.
She continued: “When I did Girls & Boys, there were like 90 pages, I had to learn it all in a month, and I had just had a five month old baby. I would put up some A4 pieces of paper with headlines on the wall, and put them all around the room, and I would go from beginning of each chapter to the next, and then when I was doing it on stage I would remember what part of the room I was in”.
In the past, Mulligan has also discussed the pressures that women face in the entertainment industry, citing the importance of calling people out even if it seems “small” or “insignificant”.
“We start to edit the way that women appear on-screen, and we want them to look a certain way,” she said. “We want to airbrush them, and we want to make them look perfect. Or we want to edit the way that they work, the way they move and the way that they think and behave. And I think we need to see real women portrayed on-screen in all of their complexity”.
This came after a scathing review from one Variety journalist who criticised her appearance as Cassie in Promising Young Woman, citing Margot Robbie as a more attractive option, which of course, was completely out of line.
Promising Young Woman has been lauded for its unique storytelling, strong performances, and unapologetic exploration of important social issues. It stands as a poignant and thought-provoking film that challenges its audience to reflect on the way society handles cases of sexual assault and the consequences of actions and inaction.
The film’s bold approach to addressing sensitive issues related to sexual assault and its unexpected narrative twists left a lasting impact on viewers and sparked conversations about the complexities of consent, accountability, and societal attitudes toward sexual violence.
Cassie is a woman haunted by past trauma, driven by a sense of moral outrage and a desire for revenge. Mulligan’s performance received widespread praise from both critics and audiences as she achieved the delicate balancing act of navigating the character’s layers of vulnerability, determination, and emotional turmoil.
