Teenage females are psychopaths, Eleanor (Maya Hawke) says in the movie Do Revenge. Many directors have succumbed to this throughout the years by producing high school movies that are more about “coming of rage” than about growing up. Bullying, exclusion, and stereotyping are just a few of the issues that are discussed. As evidence, look no further than Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why. Do Revenge, the most recent high-school drama on Netflix, isn’t all that different.
All the criteria are checked, except murder, however, it is clear that Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train had a significant effect. This movie has elements of Mean Girls meets Strangers on a Train meets John Tucker Must Die, yet it never forgets to have fun. Drea Torres (Camila Mendes) is the head girl at Rosehill Country Day, a typical high school in the United States. She belongs to the elite group and is in a relationship with Max (Austin Abrams), the popular lad. She is all a girl dreams of being until she isn’t. Drea becomes a social outcast when Max releases one of her videos and the school doesn’t hold him accountable.
The ‘awkward’ but brave Eleanor, who comes to Rosehill to confront the agonizing memories of her first crush exposing her in public, is now presented to us. At this point, Hitchcock enters the picture when Drea and Eleanor decide to stage a Rosehill version of Strangers on a Train. You could be reminded of movies like Mean Girls and Clueless if taking down Max is straight out of John Tucker Must Die.
While reveling in the cliches and occasionally inverting them, filmmaker Kaitlyn manages to keep the story positive even though the main goal is to illuminate the minds of modern high school students. We observe how categories related to sexuality are frequently used to justify heinous behavior. We can see how essential optics are in this world. These children are wealthy and skilled players. It’s amusing that the creators ridicule how “wokeness” is often treated as a joke.
One excellent element is the subplot about how patriarchy overcompensates with faux wokeness when challenged. The movie never delves too far, and this is intentional. Despite the conventional subject matter, there are moments of originality supplemented by outstanding acting and high production quality. Let’s just call it a standard Netflix movie and be happy that there aren’t many issues.
