Review of Revenge (2017) by Glenn G — 08 Jun 2018

MAD TO THE MAX - My Review of REVENGE (4 Stars).

Reminiscent of the stamp George Miller put on action cinema with MAD MAX in 1979, writer-director Coralie Fargeat announces herself with the bloody, exploitative, well-past-midnight movie glory of her feature debut with REVENGE. Although it owes a huge debt to Miller and his over-saturated desert landscapes and his gift for near wordless storytelling, REVENGE tweaks the genre by doubling down on the stuff you shield your eyes from, resulting in longer shots of gore which descends into a literal blood bath. Consider yourself either warned or primed depending on your taste.

Set in an unnamed American desert, the film introduces us to Jen (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) as she hops off a helicopter with her boyfriend Richard (Kevin Janssens). In case you haven't figured out that Jen is the Lolita type, she dons sunglasses and sucks on a lollipop. She's a pouty, spoiled LA woman, addicted to her iPhone and used to trading on her sexiness. Richard, a married man, has taken Jen to a hyper-stylized house in the middle of nowhere to have a lot of sex (Pssssst! These two ridiculously attractive specimens get naked a LOT in this film). Of course, trouble comes in the form of two of Richard's friends, Stan and Dimitri, who show up one day with rifles in hand. There to accompany Richard on a hunting trip, they get instantly distracted by Jen, male gazing the shit out of her, which leads to brutal sexual violence.

Fargeat understands the fragility of the male ego and exploits it well in deft scenes showing how each of the men feel slighted by a woman who for so long has kept her true power under wraps. She has learned how to subjugate herself to win over men, but now she has to find much deeper inner strength in order to survive when the men leave her for dead. Let me skip back for a second, for when I describe the violence as brutal, I haven't truly explained that the manner in which they leave her isn't for the faint of heart. I won't spoil it here, but impalement and its aftermath play a big part. It's horrific and Fargeat allows a visual reminder of it to stay onscreen for most of the film.

As the title implies, Jen then spends the rest of the film trying to stay alive and get back at these three terrible men. We witness the birth of a warrior, perhaps not as assertive as Sigourney Weaver's Ripley or as tormented as Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, but she's a worthy successor. Fargeat forces us to rethink the girly girls of the world, often dismissed for lacking depth and ingenuity, and through Jen gives us cause for celebration.

Although some of the dialogue is in French, the subtitle-averse shouldn't worry as this is pure visual filmmaking of the highest order. Cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert and Editors Jerome Eltabet, Bruno Safar and Fargeat herself make every shot, every transition count. It's cinematic candy until it turns excessively bloody. Shots of glass being pulled out of feet or various mutilations go on for so long as to feel grossly hilarious. There's a great set piece involving a self-made tattoo which you won't soon forget. You can feel Fargeat playing with you, taunting you, and daring you to stare at the screen.

Truth be told, with a story as simple as this one, it overstays its welcome with its 108 minute running time. This type of grindhouse thriller should have clocked in at a lean 90 minutes, but it's a minor criticism for something so energetic as this film. Plus, Fargeat has an interesting feminist perspective which puts other exploitation movies to shame. She's playing with the same tool box but applying her unique voice and I imagine I'll be watching her films from behind my hands for a long time to come.