“Do Revenge,” Netflix’s new high school revenge-swap dramedy directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Celeste Ballard, is a minefield of ‘90s teen movie references — from cliques with coordinating outfits to makeover schemes and house parties where popularity is made and lost. And, like its inspirations, which include quintessential films like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Cruel Intentions,” it even has roots in a work of literature: Patricia Highsmith’s “Strangers on a Train.” But owing to the film perspective, I am thrilled to see that there is as much as the tiniest of a common link to one of the greatest acclaimed filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock.
Blink and you will miss it, but toward the beginning of the movie, we can see one of the film’s main characters, Eleanor (Maya Hawke), is reading Strangers on a Train. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 thriller, “Strangers on a Train,” features two strangers who band up to perform the ideal murder, swapping their victims so they could never be tied to the crime. Of course, the idea of the ideal murder is a fascinating cornerstone of the psychological thriller subgenre, but what about a perfect act of revenge? “Do Revenge,” released on Netflix on Sept. 16, is a playfully modern take on “Strangers on a Train,” infused with tropes and scenes from teen comedy cult classics. The film takes the classic murder plot arc, hammering it into a narrative reminiscent of “Mean Girls” or “Clueless,” adorned with high school tyrants, Instagram, cancel culture, and of course, revenge mommies. I know it has a very Gen Z kind of take to it, in my point of view I would connect it deeply to the Gossip Girl reboot developed by Joshua Safran, an original remake of the show by Cecily von Ziegesar, implementing similar characteristics like shallow fame and fake popularity, overthrowing of queen bees in a well-structured hierarchy, all set in a high-school obviously for the privileged. The rich do have a huge track record for playing Power games, but underlying all this promiscuity and mind games, are brilliant themes just waiting to be analyzed. This movie can be described as a sugar-coated indictment of a great theatrical cultural perspective —the film’s main villain, Max (Austin Abrams) is a sexual predator masquerading as an ally, who starts a club called the “Cis Hetero Men Championing Women Identifying Students League”—while also a spotlight on important topics like slut-shaming, bullying, class inequity, homophobia, and influencer-era shallowness.
Drea (Camila Mendes) is a recently dethroned queen bee whose snobby friends turn on her when a sex tape is leaked by her very own boyfriend Max, who wields significantly more power over the privileged student body than Drea, who attends the school on a scholarship, complicated yeah, I know. Meanwhile, Eleanor is a geeky new girl whose life was ruined when she confided her queerness in someone who weaponized it against her thus lowkey destroying her life. Eleanor and Drea who, undoubtedly are highly unlikely allies, bonded by their trauma and dread over the new school year, come together to do each other’s revenge—that is, to pull a Strangers on a Train.
What makes this movie, unlike the other teen flicks that obviously the writers and directors intended to be showcased in the first place is its complicated and severe reliance on the Core-shattering Theme of Revenge. Filled with Plot twists and Dramatic ironies, Do revenge is indeed a must-watch film, And I will recommend it to all Film Fanatics around the globe. It offers enough refreshing Jolts of memories to actually leave a mark. Robinson’s slick direction, vibrant production design from Hillary Gurtler and deliciously gaudy outfits from costume designer Alana Morshead land it in the upper echelon of visual quality for Netflix movies. And though I do not necessarily see lines such as “Your new vibe is high-status cunt” sticking as well as, say, “get in loser, we’re going shopping,” It still provides enough wisecracks as one of the finest of a well-cherished genre.
THE ANATOMY OF MOVIES 