M.F.A. (4½ Stars)

I expect that most of my readers are wondering what the initials MFA mean. They stand for Master of Fine Arts. That's the degree for which Noelle, the main character, is studying at a prestigious university. It's a random title, I admit. In Germany the film is called "The Art of Revenge", which is a more relevant title that at least gives a clue what the film is about.

Noelle is a shy young woman. She has no experience with boys. That's amazing. Look how beautiful she is.

It's not just her face. She has a beautiful body as well.

I suppose it's all about self-confidence. She's scared to approach men, so she remains single.

I like Noelle's body, but I don't like her painting. I've never understood abstract modern art. My eyes are on the left side of this picture.

There are some other examples of her artwork on the wall. Or are your eyes still fixed on Noelle?

Noelle goes on a date with a fellow student called Luke. It's soon clear what he wants. He forces himself on her, and he doesn't stop when she repeatedly says No. He's not just a rapist, he's an insensitive pig. When it's over he says it was good and he wants to see her again.

Noelle reports the incident to the university counsellor, but she gets no sympathy. The counsellor suggests that she really wanted it and she only decided to call it rape afterwards. She visits Luke and asks him to apologise. He doesn't understand. Idiot! He says it was good sex, and he wants it again. He starts to kiss her, but she pushes him away, and he falls off the balcony to his death. She rushes away, and when they arrive the police call his death an accident.

It's not over for Noelle. Luke's swift death doesn't satisfy her. She finds out that three students gang-raped another student at her college, but they were found innocent in court, even though there was a video of the incident. She sets out to take revenge on rapists in general as a vigilante. Over the next three days she kills the three students. It's easy. She dresses in her sexiest clothes and seduces them one by one. They're drawn like moths to a flame. She drugs them and kills them, either by strangling them or by battering them to death with a hammer. This is just the beginning. All rapists must die.

I have full sympathy with Noelle. I don't care what the legal system says. Courts can make mistakes. Judges can make mistakes. High paid lawyers persuade juries to make mistakes. Rapists deserve to die. I refuse to back down from that opinion.

"Promising Young Woman" (2021) is so similar to "M.F.A." (2017) that I'm sure it was influenced by the film. "M.F.A." is a better film. It's more direct in what it shows, leaving nothing to the viewer's imagination.

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