Do Revenge is a teen drama film directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. The story is said to have been inspired by the legendary crime film Stranger on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This film stars a series of young stars, Camilla Mender, Maya Hawke, Sophie Turner, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. This film was released by Netflix yesterday. So, how far is the premise of “Stranger on a Train” treated by the plot?
Drea (Mendez) is a high school student who is humiliated by her boyfriend, Max, after a video of her intimate relationship goes viral. Meanwhile, Eleanor (Hawke) is a high school student who is humiliated by her girlfriend, Carissa. The two girls, shunned by their schoolmates, then made a revenge scenario by swapping places so their actions would not be recognized. The two are unwittingly caught up in a game that makes them lose themselves.
If you want to compare it to Stranger on a Train, the story of this teenage conflict is not serious and playful. If the genre is different (horror-thriller), it could be that the plot is much more biting. Without any comparison, the film’s plot is already trapped in the complexity of its own story. Intrigue after intrigue passed, and without us understanding the motive, we no longer care about the character. This kind of revenge scenario is definitely too heavy for a high school kid’s brain level. Then the twist ending, oh my gosh! The direction is clear; why should it be made this complicated? It’s like we buy meat buns, then our partner says it’s not meat buns, but a meat bun. We seem to be deceived when in fact, we are not.
Do Revenge is trapped in the chaos of overlapping plots until we lose our connection with each character, not to mention the cast members who don’t look like teenagers anymore. Just check the age of each star; Camilla Mendez, for example, is already 28 years old! The headmaster “Buffy” (Gellar), even looks young for his role. Am I the only one seeing this? If the script is playful and the casting is too forced, how will we take the story seriously?
