By Emily-Rose Toohey
Say what you want about Netflix, but when the streaming service releases genuinely good content, it takes over the cultural zeitgeist.
From ’Stranger Things’ and ’Squid Game’ to the ’Queen’s Gambit’ and ’The Kissing Booth’, where Netflix most excels is capturing the attention of teens and pre-teens with content and ’Do Revenge’ is no exception.
A riff on beloved teen films of the past like ’Clueless’, ’10 Things I Hate About You’ and most notably ’Cruel Intentions’, the film taps into a well-conceived dark comedy and delivers on every front. However, its narrative is very clearly constructed to be current and as a result, encapsulates Generation Z.
’Do Revenge’ follows popular high school student Drea (played by Camila Mendes) after her life is turned upside-down when her manipulative boyfriend Max (played by Austin Abrams) leaks her sex tape. As a result, she is horridly shunned from her friendship group after Max claims he was hacked. In what she thinks is a chance encounter, Drea subsequently befriends Eleanor (played by Maya Hawke) and the two plot to ’do each other’s revenge’. Eleonor promises to exact vengeance on Max while Drea promises to do the same with fellow student Carissa, who spread a lie about Eleanor claiming she was a predator. This wacky plot encourages all sorts of mayhem, including on the side romances, until everything implodes and a major plot twist shakes up the story. Spoiler alert: it turns out Drea was the person who started that life-changing rumour and Eleanor’s real plan was to manipulate her new friend. That’s when the movie does a complete 180 and the quirky, sharp and often funny film packs a lot of drama and even more plot twists in a short period of time.
Despite the film being set in 2022, there’s something about the aesthetic that makes it seem almost futuristic or happening in an alternate reality. From the colourful uniforms to candy-coloured visuals, it’s very pleasing to look at and as a result, makes for a fun watch.
Mendes and Hawke have great chemistry and are both funny and charming. The former proves she has the talent and star power to lead a movie once freed from the shackles of Riverdale (a complete mess of a show), and it’s exciting to think about what she’ll do next. Hawke of Stranger Things fame (and being the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) also holds her own in this roller coaster of a film.
All-in-all, ’Do Revenge’ is not flawless but is an incredibly fun watch, making it one of the better teen films to come out of the Netflix machine.
