Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017)

After she is assaulted and left for dead, Jen (Matilda Lutz) turns the tables on the men who attempted to destroy her...

Revenge is a movie that I have been meaning to watch ever since it burst into the public conscience in 2017.

Arriving in the first of the Trump presidency, and just before the Me Too movement gained newfound prominence, Revenge is a bracing, visceral experience. 

Introduced as the arm candy of a conniving bigwig Richard (Kevin Janssens), Jen is underestimated from the beginning. 

The camera manages to capture the leering threat of the men’s gaze, without feeling like it is revelling in Jen's body. Even before the initial horror, the film is building tension - the men are predators watching their prey.

Rather than caricature, the villains are horrifying human monsters - one of the men does not assault her; he walks in, interrupting the attack, and then leaves the room to let it happen.

The mens' complete lack of reaction to the attack carries an implication that this horror is merely the latest of a pattern.

Once the film enters the desert, it becomes more elemental.

After the initial attempt to kill her fails, Jen is revealed posed christ-like on a tree with a wound in her side.

It is the first of several images of resurrection that the film creates, as Jen reveals a MacGyver-level of ingenuity, a superhuman tenacity that ultimately overwhelms her attackers.

In order to cauterise her chest wound, she uses a can that leaves a scar embossed with the can brand, a Phoenix logo.

The shift into fantasy is matched by a shift in tone, towards a darkly comic joy as our heroine enacts her retribution.

While her opponents see her as disposable meat, the film uses every technique to show the destruction of their bodies. Featuring gruesome practical effects and hyper real sound design, the film recalls the intensity of New French Extremity like Martyrs and Inside, but with a knowing irreverence - it is impossible to watch Jen’s rapist's (Vincent Colombe) deranged attempts to remove glass from the exaggerated, bloody cut in his foot without acknowledging the absurdity.

Revenge! It is a breath of fresh to watch a movie so robust, so alive. It is a movie with blood in its veins and on its hands.

If you are new to this blog, I also co-host a podcast on James Bond, The James Bond Cocktail Hour. 

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.