PicoBlog

(Do Revenge — Picture: Netflix)

‘Do Revenge’ is a Netflix dark teen comedy film that follows the relationship between two friends who bond over seeking revenge on the people who have done them wrong. Drea, a Queen Bee who had fallen from grace after her boyfriend leaked her sex tape, and Eleanor, a transfer student who was outed by a girl at her school.

So naturally, the film follows these two as they enact their revenge on others and watch the relationship between them develop. On the surface, this may seem like just another teen film with no actual substance, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

What I love the most about "Do Revenge" is how detailed and meticulous everything is in this movie. The set design, the costuming, the color palette, and even the references to other 2000s pop culture classic films. It felt like nothing was done by mistake when watching, and you really could tell that. If you enjoy pop culture classic films of the 2000s, you’ll definitely enjoy this film.

All that being said, I don’t want to discredit the plot of the movie because I think it was also very detailed and planned out as well. The plot twist of Eleanor having gotten so close to Drea because she was trying to get revenge on her had me shocked. But it also didn’t feel like it was just thrown in there for shock value as well. I genuinely thought we were going to just watch these two girls just terrorize the people who did them wrong, and we did but we got so much more than that. Eleanor’s revenge on Drea is what causes them to develop as characters and people.

(Despite the controversies surrounding her acting, I really think Maya Hawke played that psychotic teenage girl hellbent on revenge well, but that’s just me. The same thing goes for Camila Mendes. She played her "Queen Bee fallen from Grace" character flawlessly, like she was born for this role.)

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the film's creator, states, "I think there are different points where everyone’s the villain and everyone’s the hero in this story," and I genuinely agree with that. At many points throughout the film, I was thinking to myself that everyone was at fault for something and that everyone has many layers to them and there’s more to them than just what’s on the surface, whether that be for better or worse. Nobody outside of Drea’s circle really likes her because of how she treated them; Max is a misogynistic loser; Eleanor LITERALLY got into a car crash to get back at Drea; etc.

These characters are dressed pristinely in these beautiful outfits; they’re attractive, rich, successful, etc. Their perfectly crafted physical appearances are just masks and facades to hide their true natures and intentions. Do you think it’s a coincidence all these nasty-spirited people are covered in these pretty and inviting pastel colors all the time? NO! That’s not only the intention of the costume designers but the characters themselves.

Two great examples are Max and Eleanor. Max dresses more femininely with his painted nails and wears hoops or rose earrings to appear like he’s a feminist and in touch with his feminist side when in actuality he’s a misogynist. Eleanor starts with more rough and street-style wear to appear like an outcast to everyone. Her makeover essentially serves as who she always wanted to be, and when her true nature is revealed, she wears darker and grungier outfits. Even Drea as well. Her whole internal belief is that since her dethroning as queen bee, she wants to act and appear as if she’s better and above them, but until Eleanor calls her out, she never really changed and her style is consistent with that shows that as well.

The focus of the movie is on who these people are under all the glitz and glamour and their flaws as people. We watch as these people grow and choose between two paths: 1. accepting responsibility for their mistakes and learning from them; or 2. succumbing to their past vices and mistakes and repeating them, eventually losing everything. Obviously, Drea and Eleanor fall into category 1, and Max and Erica (to some degree) fall into category 2.

‘Do Revenge’ does all this and more while balancing being fun to watch, and it has a lot of nostalgic sentiments with it all while still feeling so fresh and relevant. The movie has so many meme-able moments, and I think it’ll leave a lasting impression on people and pop culture in general. It pays homage to the pop culture classics that came before it, without losing its own identity.

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