‘Promising Young Woman’ through a very ‘Toxic’ lens

Emerald Fennell is the talk of the town. With a current 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the deceptively cotton-candy treat Promising Young Woman, Fennell’s directorial debut starring Carey Mulligan, is poised to be the year’s most tail-spinning and enthralling feature. And most of us haven’t even seen it yet. You’ve probably seen the trailer, though ⏤ with its smart social commentary on rape culture, revenge, and what it means to be a toxic white male. “I am a nice guy,” stutters Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s character Neil once he seemingly realizes what Mulligan’s Cassandra Thomas has been up to this entire time. She replies, “Are you?!” Thus, the film calls into question lines of consent, morally questionable behavior, and the total ignorance and patriarchal privilege that comes with it.

As captivating as the story is ⏤ visuals splashed with color and careful camerawork, characters moving through the space, tormented and seeking a safe haven ⏤ the music commands just as much of the conversation. You’ve probably been wondering who is playing such a visceral, string-bound, and totally explosive version of Britney Spears‘ iconic hit “Toxic” (off her 2003 studio album In the Zone). Well, that would be an Italian orchestral quartet called Archimia ⏤ comprised of musicians Paolo Costanzo, Serafino Tedesi, Matteo Del Soldà, and Andrea Anzalone ⏤ a collaboration “born from the idea of ​​four classically trained musicians from the conservatories of Milan and Piacenza, with a common desire to explore new sounds and acoustic possibilities,” reads their official bio.

So, you could easily see how a song like “Toxic” could carry such an impenetrable hypnotic quality ⏤ its grinding and dirty soundscape, paired with Spears’ sultry invitation, is unavoidable. The original song was written by Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (known together as Bloodshy & Avant), alongside additional contributions from Cathy Dennis (Kylie Minogue, S Club 7), and Henrik Jonback (Christina Millian).

Archimia’s skin-tight string rendition was recorded in 2013 for an album called No Limits String Quartet, produced by Red Canzian ⏤ a good friend, artist, and member of the Pooh, an Italian pop band formed in 1966. That collection also contains a haunting Michael Jackson double-up called “Thriller – Billy Jean Medley,” a jaunty cover of Van Halen’s “Jump,” and The Beatles’ “Yesterday.”

“We had such a vast repertoire. It was so hard for us to choose among all the songs the best tracks for the album, and [Red] helped us out in that, too,” Costanzo writes to B-Sides & Badlands over email. “None of us had any doubt about ‘Toxic,’ though. We all loved it from the start, and we had already played it for such a long time and so many times with a constant enthusiastic feedback from our audience that all this was a valid reason itself to immortalize it. [It was] no surprise that it struck again on the production of [this film].”

When Spears’ original was released, Costanzo was instantly entranced, perhaps as much as anyone else. “Britney was on everyone’s lips because of her strong musical and media power. At the height of her success everyone, even those who were not fond of the genre, were infected by her charismatic personality,” he offers.

“‘Toxic’ is disturbing and mesmerizing. It has suspense and tension that goes beyond the sexual. It takes all the senses, and it shivers down the spine ⏤ appealing like anything forbidden, unhealthy… so exciting,” he further dissects the song, one of great cultural transcendence. “For those four minutes or so, any fantasy is allowed, any repressed sensation is released. ‘Toxic’ is escape to a dream of unmentionable secrets. It pierces skin, bones, and gut, and strikes even deeper, activating strong and contrasting emotions and sensations: it is art, and for this reason it is destined to last forever.”

Violinist Del Soldà was at the helm of crafting “Toxic,” and its sticky, irresistible hook, into an equally unforgettable performance piece. “The arrangement has been designed to make a rhythmic / percussive pop piece effective even with a quartet line-up. The result is so good at highlighting our desire of escaping the cliché of the classical musicians,” Constanzo says, breaking down barriers that exist between the classical and the pop. He continues, “This arrangement perfectly reflects our style, and the energy we want to convey to our audience. Experimenting has always been our priority, and we only choose songs that fascinate and seduce us somehow.”

The quartet keep the original’s identifiable structures, particularly melodically, as a way to keep the energy and its fierce intensity right on the surface. “The idea was to respect the core of the song as much as we could. We tried and tested the piece several times, and then we improvised an intro and a special half track,” he says, citing Tedesi’s work here

“In contrast to the rest of the piece, it begins with a static rhythm that gradually intensifies rhythmically and finally ends to bring the listener back to the mood of the song. We reproduced those sounds and percussions that typically belong to pop and rock music only by playing our strings, all acoustic, no special effects. It was a big challenge that turned out to be such an innovative and winning choice.”

The introduction is electrifying, as if violin strings are being drug down a chalkboard, and it cements the performance’s overall provocative tone. “The idea of the intro is to create suspense, and the audience inevitably expects something dark, introspective, and maybe even more classic. But in the end, it is finally surprised and impressed by the famous song instead ⏤ that is above the pop. Not a coincidence, every time we start with the well known theme you hear people literally scream in amazement.”

Last November, Costanzo’s whole world changed ⏤ when an email popped into his inbox. Focus Features, production and distribution company for the film, wanted to use their version of “Toxic.” He almost couldn’t believe it. “At that time, we were in the middle of a tour with famous and talented Italian singer named Elisa Toffoli. [We did] over 60 dates in less than a year… so much excitement and all at the same time!”

Archimia’s “Toxic” not only takes centerstage in the trailer but within the film itself, according to Variety, who was on-the-scene following the film’s Sundance Festival premiere. Upon first look, Costanzo found the trailer to be “beautiful, strong, impacting, and captivating, with a touch of originality. I think they chose our version of ‘Toxic’ for this, too: the sound of the strings in pop music is something original itself.”

“Leaving our mark in such a great production means so much for us, another evidence that passion plus hard work always pay off.”

As The Cut‘s Hannah Gold observes, “The choice of Spears’s ‘Toxic’ reads like a reference to ‘toxic masculinity,’ a concept that’s grown to encompass a range of sexist actions and aggressions.”

Costanzo agrees. “I don’t think it is accidental. I personally find that the masculinity of the song has something to do with the film, as the seductive power of the person who pronounces those words does: a woman who gets what she wants. This music evokes that somehow.”

Promising Young Woman hits theatres next month (April 17).

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