The writer behind the Variety review of the film Carey Mulligan Promising Young Woman has spoken out in his defense against allegations of sexism.
Dennis Harvey recently became the target of online fury after referring to the 35-year-old actress as a “strange choice” for the role of femme fatale, while suggesting that producer Margot Robbie would have been a better choice. Hi.
And in a new interview with The Guardian, the film critic marked Carey’s reaction to his words “bizarre” and “quite a leap” – insisting that his review never compared the attractiveness of actresses.
Speaking: The writer behind the Variety review of Carey Mulligan’s film Promising Young Woman has spoken out in defense of sexism allegations
He said: ‘[W]until Carey Mulligan certainly has the right to interpret the review however she likes, her projection suggesting that she is not “hot enough” is, for me, bizarre. I’m sorry it feels that way. But I’m sorry and that’s a conclusion he would make, because it’s a pretty big leap.
Harvey also acknowledged that he is unsure of his future with Variety after writing for them for 30 years, as they apologized for his “insensitive” review.
“I didn’t say or even wanted to say that Mulligan ‘isn’t hot enough’ for the role,” he said. “I am a 60-year-old gay man. In fact, I’m not thinking about the comparative heats of young actresses, let alone writing about it.
‘[I’m] terrified of being misled into being misogynistic, which is something very foreign to my personal beliefs or politics, ”he continued. “The whole thing couldn’t be worse for me than if someone claimed to be a Trump supporter.”
Problem: Mulligan attacked the Variety review, insisting it was “transparent” back then
During his interview, Harvey pointed out that his article remained online for 11 months without a complaint, until Carey ruled against it.
He also said that US distributors asked to use quotes from his review as part of their marketing campaign shortly after the review was published last year.
In his Variety review, Harvey said Mulligan appeared to be in a “bad shoot” in the film, as he suggested that Robbie should have taken over the role.
In an interview with the New York Times late last year, Mulligan slammed Variety for “sexist” criticism, saying it [her] crazy’.
The review read: “Mulligan, an excellent actress, seems like a strange choice, because this apparent woman with many layers is recognized – Margot Robbie is a producer here and we can imagine (maybe too easily) that the role could have once been for her.
Role: In her review, Harvey suggested that Margot Robbie, a filmmaker, would have been a better choice for the role of femme fatale.
“While wearing this star, Cassie wears her lining tools like bad features; even her long blond hair seems to be put on.
The Variety review was posted online a year ago, but was updated with a bold “Editor’s Note” excuse after Mulligan spoke in a recent interview.
“Variety sincerely apologizes to Carey Mulligan and regrets the insensitive language and insinuation in our review of ‘Promising Young Woman’ who downplayed her bold performance,” the apology reads.
Variety told the Daily Telegraph that Harvey is an independent critic and will not comment on whether to continue writing for the publication.
A statement said: “The variety has no other comments. Apologies speak for themselves.
Review review: Mulligan spoke again this week, talking about the controversy with fellow film star Zendaya in the series Actors on Variety Actors
Mulligan spoke again this week about the controversy with fellow movie star Zendaya on Variety’s Actors on Actors.
During the interview, Zendaya investigated Mulligan when she shouted at Variety after the Promising Young Woman review was released.
“I think it’s important for criticism to be constructive,” Mulligan said. “I think it’s important to look at the right things when it comes to work, and we look at art and we look at performance.
“And I don’t think this refers to the actor’s appearance or personal preference for what an actor does or doesn’t do – what he thought that article did.”
“So I think criticizing or complaining about a character’s lack of attractiveness was not a slight personality,” Mulligan continued.
Acclaim: Her portrayal of Cassie in Promising Young Woman received widespread acclaim
“I was not hurt by my ego, but I was worried that in such a large publication the appearance of an actress could be criticized and could be accepted as a completely reasonable criticism.
“It’s important to bring those things to light, because they seem small and seem insignificant. But I stayed, because I think it’s these everyday moments that come together.
“Nice to say,” Zendaya said.
The apology came after Mulligan called Variety in an interview with The New York Times after Variety published its review.
“I read the Variety review because I’m a weak person,” Mulligan told the Times. “It simply came to our notice then. It seemed to me that he was practically saying that I was not hot enough to set up this type of trick.
It drove me so crazy. I was like, “Really? For this film, will you write something so transparent? Now? In 2020? ‘I just couldn’t believe it.
But Variety’s apology was criticized by fellow film critic Jeffrey Wells, who said that although he did not agree with Harvey’s review, the publication should have given him the opportunity to respond.
He exploded online: “They completely washed Harvey’s hands in this case and threw him more or less under the bus.”
Promising Young Woman, first released on Christmas Day 2020, features Mulligan as Cassie, who fights men who try to sleep with her while she is apparently intoxicated.
Mulligan won an award for Best Actress on the National Board of Review for her performance, followed by an Oscar buzz.
Actors: She argued that personal appearance should not be considered a fair criticism of actors