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Carey Mulligan responds to Promising Young Woman criticism: 'It stuck with me'

The actor spoke to the New York Times about a recent review

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Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
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Carey Mulligan has spoken out after her performance as Cassie in upcoming blockbuster Promising Young Woman, from Killing Eve writer Emerald Fennell, was criticised.

MORE: Everything to know about Promising Young Woman

The actress, who is also known for her roles in Suffragettes and new Netflix movie The Dig, admitted that the review, written by a film critic in Variety, had "stuck with her".

She told the New York Times recently: "It made me concerned that in such a big publication, an actress' appearance could be criticized and that could be accepted as completely reasonable criticism."

WATCH: Carey Mulligan stars in upcoming new film Promising Young Woman

The Great Gatsby star added: "It stuck with me, because I think it's these kind of everyday moments that add up — that mean that we start to edit the way that women appear on screen and we want them to look a certain way."

The review in the online publication questioned whether Carey was the right choice for the role as Cassie, a woman whose life is derailed at university after being sexually assaulted, and added that fellow actress and the film's producer Margot Robbie, might have been a better choice.

The review read: "[Carey] seems a bit of an odd choice as this admittedly many-layered apparent femme fatale. Margot Robbie is a producer here, and one can (perhaps too easily) imagine the role might once have been intended for her."

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carey promising young woman© Universal

Carey Mulligan as Cassie in Promising Young Woman

Meanwhile, the film has already proved a hit with film critics in general after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020.

The synopsis reads: "Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be - she's wickedly smart, tantalisingly 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 from the past."  

Appearing on the Graham Norton Show recently, Carey said of the film: "It is the best script I had read. It is amazing and it's so many things – romantic comedy, thriller, revenge road movie. It's really hard to describe. It's so good to be in a film that is so dark, but fun at the same time."

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