Do Revenge
Do Revenge is a 2022 American teen black comedy film directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Celeste Ballard. It stars Camila Mendes, Maya Hawke, Austin Abrams, Rish Shah, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, and it is loosely inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951). It was released on Netflix on September 16, 2022, and received generally positive reviews from critics.
| Do Revenge | |
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Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Jennifer Kaytin Robinson |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Brian Burgoyne |
| Edited by |
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| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[1] |
Robinson pays homage to several 1990s high school films and other teen classics such as the movie Heathers (1989) and Mean Girls (2004).[2][3]
Plot
Drea is a popular student attending Rosehill Country Day High School, an elite private school in Miami on a scholarship. However, she becomes a social outcast after an intimate video she sent to her equally popular boyfriend, Max, is leaked online. Despite his denial, Drea blames Max for the video's release and punches him in the face, resulting in their breakup.
Over the summer, Drea works at a tennis camp where she meets Eleanor, a tomboyish, shy girl from a wealthy background who is transferring to Rosehill as a senior in September. When Drea's car fails to start, Eleanor offers her a ride and tells her about also becoming an outcast when a false rumor spread that she forcibly kissed Carissa, another Rosehill student, at a summer camp years earlier.
Realizing they will not get justice on their own, Drea and Eleanor devise a plan to exact revenge on the other's enemy: Drea on Carissa and Eleanor on Max. Following a makeover, Eleanor slowly infiltrates Drea's old clique of popular students, while Drea tries to get close to Carissa by working at the school farm, also befriending Russ, an unpopular student and Carissa's friend.
Eleanor is invited to a pool party thrown by Max, where she discovers he is cheating on his new girlfriend, Tara (Drea's former best friend). Drea runs into Carissa at the beach with Russ, and steals her keys to the farm's locked greenhouse full of marijuana and magic mushrooms that Carissa is storing.
At the school's Senior Ring Ceremony, Drea places the drugs found at the secret greenhouse in their classmates' dinner with the intention of stealing Max's phone to obtain evidence of his wrongdoings. She also anonymously tips off the headmaster about the greenhouse, getting Carissa expelled and sent to rehab. While searching through Max's texts messages, Drea and Eleanor find photos and messages from other girls at school stretching back years.
At the Valentine's Day assembly, Eleanor shares Max's texts to the entire student body, but the plan fails when Max and Tara pretend to be a polyamorous couple, which in turn becomes the school's latest trend. Drea spirals after getting rejected from her dream school, Yale University, and concocts a new plan to destroy Max and her popular former friends at the upcoming Admissions Party, which can only be attended by those accepted by Ivy League schools.
Eleanor begins to accept her new popularity and Drea's old friends, beginning a relationship with Max's twin sister Gabbi. When Max and his friends surprise Eleanor for her birthday, Drea crashes the party and nearly jeopardizes their revenge scheme. They fight, going their separate ways after Eleanor asserts that there is no evidence that Max leaked Drea's video. Gabbi overhears this and breaks up with Eleanor for taking Max's side.
Drea, seeking dirt on Eleanor, visits Carissa at a rehab facility. Carissa reveals Eleanor is actually "Nosey" Nora Cutler, a girl they both went to summer camp with. It was Drea who outed Nora and spread the rumor, an event she had forgotten, which prompted Eleanor to change her name and undergo a rhinoplasty. Drea confronts Eleanor, who reveals she had been playing her all along, aiming to cause the same pain she endured from the rumor. Eleanor threatens to frame Drea's mother, a nurse, for drug possession if she refuses to expose her old friends at the Admissions Party. Later, Eleanor purposefully T-bones Drea's car, sending her to the hospital to create an elaborate sob story that permits access to the party.
During the Admissions Party, Drea reveals Eleanor to be "Nosey Nora" to Max and friends, but immediately regrets it and apologizes to Eleanor for her past actions. Their emotional reconciliation is interrupted when Max reveals he discovered their plot against him. He plans to expose them and confesses to releasing Drea's video, unaware Eleanor is videoing him. The girls project Max's confession to the entire party, turning everyone against him. Max is expelled from Rosehill and his spot at Yale is offered to Drea, who rejects it. She and Eleanor skip graduation and drive off into the sunset.
Drea apologizes to Russ, Eleanor reconciles with Gabbi, and Max joins a toxic masculinity support group.
Cast
- Camila Mendes as Drea
- Maya Hawke as Eleanor
- Austin Abrams as Max
- Rish Shah as Russ
- Talia Ryder as Gabbi
- Alisha Boe as Tara
- Ava Capri as Carissa
- Jonathan Daviss as Elliot
- Paris Berelc as Meghan
- Maia Reficco as Montana
- Sophie Turner as Erica
- Rachel Matthews as Allegra
- Eliza Bennett as Jessica
- Francesca Reale as Ariana
- Olivia Sui as Sage
- Jude Timothy Harris as Peter
- Todd Allen Durkin as Vice Principal Norris
- Phoebe French as Willow
- Fay the Lizard as Oscar Winner Olivia Colman
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as the Headmaster[4]
Production
Casting
On October 14, 2020, it was reported that Netflix was developing the film, then titled Strangers. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson co-wrote and directed the film, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951).[5] In November 2020, Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke were reported to star.[6] Additional cast members were announced in early 2021.[7][8][9]
Filming
Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles in early 2021,[10][11] but was changed to Atlanta, Georgia, with the story taking place in Miami following a rewrite in order to accommodate to Hawke's schedule, who was shooting Stranger Things, as director Robinson did not want to lose either of the main actresses.[12] Filming initially wrapped on August 7, 2021,[13] with later stages of production occurring in August 2022 in Miami, Florida.[14] Much of the filming took place at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Release
The film was released on Netflix on September 16, 2022.[15]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 77 reviews, and an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Do Revenge could have used a bit more bite, but Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes make this a sweet dish best served to viewers who understand that high school can be hell."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]
Coleman Spilde of The Daily Beast called the film a "generation defining masterpiece", saying that "Once a decade, there comes a high school comedy so stylish, so witty, and so instantly influential that it cannot be topped. Netflix's colorful new romp is that movie."[18] Amy Nicholson of The New York Times gave the film a B and described it as "a playful, sharp-fanged satire that feels like the '90s teen comedy hammered into modern emojis: crown, knife, fire, winky face."[19] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and said, "The film manages to blend all of its influences into a distinctive movie that is fully committed to its vision of high school as a handsomely costumed, art-directed snake pit filled with sadists who get off on other people's pain and embarrassment."[20]
References
- ^ Robinson, Jacob (August 9, 2022). "'Do Revenge' Netflix Movie: Release Date, Cast, Trailer and Everything We Know". What's On Netflix. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ Sylph, Francesca (September 26, 2022). "From 'Mean Girls' to 'Heathers': 9 Iconic Movies (And 1 Iconic Album) That Influenced 'Do Revenge'". Collider. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ Spencer, Ashley (September 14, 2022). "Do Revenge: Paying Homage to Teen Classics by Way of Hitchcock". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ Bitran, Tara (September 14, 2022). "Wait, Was That Sarah Michelle Gellar as the 'Do Revenge' Headmaster?". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ Donnely, Matt (October 14, 2020). "Jennifer Kaytin Robinson Reunites With Netflix for Hitchcock-Inspired Strangers (Exclusive)". Variety. from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda; D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 10, 2020). "Camila Mendes & Maya Hawke To Star In Netflix Movie Strangers From Someone Great Helmer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (April 28, 2021). "Rish Shah To Co-Star In The Netflix Pic Strangers From Someone Great Director". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (June 24, 2021). "Sophie Turner Joins Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's Netflix Feature Strangers". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (June 24, 2021). "Netflix Dark Comedy Strangers Sets Cast With Dash & Lily's Austin Abrams And 13 Reasons Why Star Alisha Boe Among Those Joining Ensemble". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ Larasati, Dyah (August 10, 2022). "'Do Revenge': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far". Collider. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Gillespie, Katherine (April 7, 2021). "Camila Mendes Always Keeps Her Cool". Paper. from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ George, Crystal (September 16, 2022). "Where does Do Revenge take place? (Where was Do Revenge filmed?)". NetflixLife. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Robinson, Jennifer Kaytin [@jennkaytin] (August 7, 2021). "a summer full of laughing, crying, screaming, hugging, crying again, laughing some more, flooded sets, lightning strikes, epic costumes, gorgeous production design, snatched hmu, cranes, another lightning strike, rain, HEAT, the best times, the worst times, and most importantly- a cast and crew so special i can't believe i was lucky enough to work with them all. to everyone who worked on this film- thank you! and to everyone who is gonna get to watch this batshit masterpiece when it drops on @netflix - you're fucking welcome. that's a wrap, baby. we did revenge". Retrieved August 7, 2021 – via Instagram.
- ^ Shrestha, Naman (September 14, 2022). "Where Was Netflix's Do Revenge Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ Jones, Tamera (July 20, 2022). "Maya Hawke & Camila Mendes Shine in First Images From Netflix's Do Revenge". Collider. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "Do Revenge". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Do Revenge Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Spilde, Coleman (September 15, 2022). "'Do Revenge' Is a Generation-Defining Teen Masterpiece". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ Nicholson, Amy (September 15, 2022). "'Do Revenge' Review: Strangers on a Text Chain". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (September 16, 2022). "Do Revenge movie review & film summary (2022)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.