{"id":12482,"date":"2022-09-16T20:46:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-17T00:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=12482"},"modified":"2022-09-16T20:46:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-17T00:46:39","slug":"do-revenge-a-cerebral-teen-drama-that-mocks-the-brutality-of-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=12482","title":{"rendered":"Do Revenge, A Cerebral Teen Drama That Mocks The Brutality Of High School"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Les Liaisons Dangereuses<\/i> were set in an American high school, during the Instagram era, they would look like Netflix\u2019s new teen drama Do Revenge<\/i><\/b>. Girl power crushes the patriarchy in this entertaining film, scripted by Celeste Ballard and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and directed by the latter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s story about a friendship between two marginalised adolescents Drea (Camila Mendes)\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 the Alpha, fallen it-girl \u2014 and Eleanor (Maya Hawke) \u2014 Beta, new alt-girl \u2014 who team up to go after each other\u2019s bullies. Drea will take down Carissa (Ava Capri) who started a nasty rumour about Eleanor in summer camp when they were thirteen. Whilst Eleanor will deal with destroying the popularity of Max (Austin Abrams), who seemingly leaked out the sex tape with Drea, turning her reputation to ashes. After a clandestine run-in at tennis camp, Drea and Eleanor form an unlikely bond and start a secret revenge mission that leads to many captivating plot twists.<\/p>\n

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DO REVENGE – (L-R) Camila Mendes as Drea and Maya Hawke as Eleanor in Do Revenge. Cr. Kim Simms\/Netflix \u00a9 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The characters are beautifully written and their dialogue is witty and raw. It doesn\u2019t surprise, considering Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is not new to stories about growing up and female friendships; she made her feature directorial debut in 2018 with Someone Great <\/i><\/b>and in 2016 she was on Variety\u2019<\/i>s 10 TV Writers to Watch<\/a> list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Do Revenge<\/i><\/b>,<\/i> <\/i><\/b>teenagers are portrayed in all their ruthlessness. The dynamics of love, friendship, validation and lionisation amongst adolescents are presented with all their nuances. Youth is gender fluid, in terms of style and sentimental choices. Individuality is what distinguishes teenagers nowadays, but the paradox is that this freedom of expression still craves for categories, whether one is queer, fashionista, polyamorous, techie and so on. Even Gen Z, the most progressive generation in history, feels the urge to put people in boxes.Wandering through the school grounds we encounter climate activists, the \u201cInstagram witches,\u201d the \u201chorny theatre kids,\u201d the \u201cfarm kids\u201d and the high school royalty. Dark comedy presents these scary protagonists in a lucid and penetrating way, revealing the \u201cwounded soldiers on the battlefield of adolescence<\/i>.\u201d However, no matter the chosen faction all youngsters in Do Revenge <\/i><\/b>share the \u201ckaleidoscope of trauma and resilience<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drea and Eleanor show us the pain of loneliness, but they are able to transform their roles of high school underdog in what they call \u201cGlennergy.\u201d Indeed, Glenn Close\u2019s plotting in Fatal Attraction <\/i><\/b>is nothing compared to the diabolical plans of this canny duo. Their enterprises are a mirror of society\u2019s compulsive \u201cperformativity.\u201d Social constructs became a source of inspiration for ingenious mockery, like the \u201cCIS Hetero Men Championing Female Identifying Students League\u201d that gives wave to purplewashing and tokenism. In this way the most represented groups in society have the upper hand \u2014 once again \u2014 by opportunistically embracing causes that support diversity.<\/p>\n

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DO REVENGE – Austin Abrams as Max (C) in Do Revenge. Cr. Kim Simms\/Netflix \u00a9 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fun element of this teen movie is the Hitchcockian tension that builds up. It continuously takes audiences by surprise: appearances are deceptive, nothing is as it seems. And along the way things couldn\u2019t get more cringe.<\/p>\n

In the film teenagers come across as psychos and sociopaths but the parody brings to light all the frailties of this delicate phase in life, where adolescents may feel lost but that sense of misplacement walks hand in hand with the freedom to chisel their life according to their will. Just like the lyrics of song that closes Do Revenge<\/i><\/b>, by Meredith Brooks and Shelly Peiken: \u201cI’m a bitch, I’m a lover;<\/i> <\/i>I’m a child, I’m a mother;<\/i> <\/i>I’m a sinner, I’m a saint;<\/i> <\/i>I do not feel ashamed; I’m your Hell, I’m your dream; I’m nothing in between; You know you wouldn’t want it any other way.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

Do Revenge <\/i><\/b>brings together the guilty pleasure blockbuster and the cerebral social commentary movie. Social politics prove to be an indomitable force and Robinson brilliantly puts under a magnifying glass a micro and macro analysis of teen-years that become representative of all ages in human existence.<\/p>\n

Final Grade: B+<\/p>\n

Check out more of Chiara\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n