The writer behind Variety’s critique of Carey Mulligan’s Promised Young Woman has spoken out in his winning defense amid accusations of sexism.
Dennis Harvey recently became a target of online furore, after referring to the actress, 35, as a ‘strange choice’ for the role of femme fatale, while suggesting that producer Margot Robbie would have been a better choice.
And in a new interview with the Guardian, the film critic called Carey’s reaction to his words ‘bizarre’ and ‘quite a leap’ – insisting that his criticism never compared the attractiveness of the actresses.
Speaking: The writer behind Variety’s critique of Carey Mulligan’s film Promised Young Woman spoke in his winning defense amid accusations of sexism
He said: ‘[W]While Carey Mulligan certainly has the right to interpret criticism as she sees fit, her projection suggesting that she “is not hot” is, for me, simply bizarre. I’m sorry that she feels that way. But I also regret that it is a conclusion that she would skip, because it is quite a leap.
Harvey also admitted not being sure about his future at Variety after writing to them for 30 years, while they apologized for their ‘insensitive’ criticism.
‘I didn’t say or mean that Mulligan’ isn’t hot enough ‘for the role, “he said. “I am a 60-year-old gay. In fact, I’m not thinking about the comparative likes of young actresses, much less writing about it.
‘[I’m] I am shocked to be labeled a misogynist, which is something very foreign to my personal or political beliefs, ‘he continued. “This whole thing couldn’t be more horrible to me than if someone claimed I was an enthusiastic Trump supporter.”
Problem: Mulligan attacked Variety’s criticism, insisting it was ‘transparent’ and out of fashion
During his interview, Harvey pointed out the fact that his article remained online for 11 months without complaint until Carey spoke out against him.
He also said that American distributors asked to use pullquotes from their analysis as part of their marketing campaign shortly after the analysis was published last year.
In his criticism of Variety, Harvey stated that Mulligan appeared to be in a ‘bad prank’ in the film, suggesting that Robbie should have taken the role.
During an interview with the New York Times late last year, Mulligan criticized Variety for “sexist” criticism, saying he “boosted [her] Crazy’.
Critics said: ‘Mulligan, a good actress, seems like a bit of an odd choice, given that this apparent admittedly multifaceted femme fatale – Margot Robbie is a producer here, and one can (perhaps very easily) imagine that the role could have been a day intended for her.
Role: In his review, Harvey suggested that Margot Robbie, a film producer, would have been a better choice for the role of femme fatale
‘Whereas, with this star, Cassie uses her pickup bait equipment as a bad dredging; even her long blond hair looks like a fake.
Variety’s review was posted online a year ago, but was updated with a bold ‘Editor’s Note’ apology after Mulligan spoke about it in a recent interview.
“Variety sincerely apologizes to Carey Mulligan and laments the insensitive and insinuating language in our ‘promising young woman’ criticism that downplayed her daring performance,” says the apology.
Variety told the Daily Telegraph that Harvey is a freelance critic and declined to comment on whether he would continue to write for the publication.
A statement said: ‘Variety has no further comment. The apology speaks for itself. ‘
Revisiting criticism: Mulligan spoke again this week, talking about the controversy with movie star Zendaya on the Variety’s Actors on Actors series
Mulligan spoke again this week, talking about the controversy with movie star Zendaya on the Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
During the interview, Zendaya questioned Mulligan about Variety after the Promising Young Woman review was published.
“I think it’s important that the criticism is constructive,” said Mulligan. “I think it’s important that we’re looking at the right things when it comes to work, and we’re looking at art and performance.
“And I don’t think it depends on the actor’s appearance or his personal preference for what an actor looks like or not – what that article looked like.”
‘So I think that criticizing or lamenting the lack of attractiveness on my part in a character, it was not a personal scorn,’ continued Mulligan.
Acclaim: Her interpretation of Cassie in Promising Young Woman received widespread acclaim
“It didn’t hurt my ego, but it worried me that in such a big publication the appearance of an actress could be criticized and accepted as a completely reasonable criticism.
‘It is important to call these things, because they seem small and insignificant. But it stayed with me, because I think those moments of everyday life add up.
“Very well said,” said Zendaya.
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. – And I disagreed with that. It felt like I was basically saying that I wasn’t hot enough to use that kind of ruse.
‘It made me so crazy. I was like, ‘Really? For this film, are you going to 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 while he disagreed with Harvey’s criticism, the publication should have given him the opportunity to respond.
He exploded online: ‘In this case, they washed Harvey’s hands completely and more or less threw him under the bus.’
Promising young woman, first released on Christmas Day in 2020, introduces Mulligan as Cassie, who fights men who try to sleep with her while she is apparently drunk.
Mulligan won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for her performance, with Oscar buzz following her as well.
Actors: she stated that personal appearance should not be considered a fair criticism for actors