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Do Revenge

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Do Revenge
Official release poster
Directed byJennifer Kaytin Robinson
Written by
  • Celeste Ballard
  • Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Produced by
  • Anthony Bregman
  • Peter Cron
  • Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Starring
CinematographyBrian Burgoyne
Edited by
  • David Clark
  • Lori Ball
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)
Running time
119 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[2]

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) and Patricia Highsmith's novel Strangers on a Train, which Hitchcock's film was based on. It was released on Netflix on September 16, 2022, and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Robinson pays homage to several 1990s high school films and other teen classics such as Heathers (1989) and Mean Girls (2004).[3][4]

Plot

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Drea is a popular student attending Rosehill Country Day High School, an elite private school in Miami, on a scholarship. A "conniving, selfish sociopath" who uses people to get what she wants, Drea becomes a social outcast after an intimate video she sent to her equally popular boyfriend, Max, is leaked online. Max claims he was hacked, but Drea blames Max for the video's release and they break up.

That summer, Drea works at a tennis camp where she meets Eleanor, a shy tomboy from a wealthy background who is transferring to Rosehill in September. Eleanor tells Drea 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, the two plan to exact revenge on each other's enemy: Drea on Carissa and Eleanor on Max. After 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 party thrown by Max, where she discovers he is cheating on his new girlfriend, Tara – Drea's former best friend. Drea steals Carissa's keys to the farm's locked greenhouse, finding the marijuana and magic mushrooms that Carissa is storing.

At the school's Senior Ring Ceremony, Drea places the drugs from the greenhouse in their classmates' dinner so she can steal Max's phone to obtain evidence of his wrongdoings. She 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 a school assembly, Eleanor shares Max's texts to the entire student body, but Max and Tara then 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, and concocts a new plan to destroy all her popular former friends at the upcoming Admissions Party, which can only be attended by those accepted by Ivy League schools.

Eleanor enjoys 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 the rehab facility. Carissa reveals that Eleanor is actually "Nosey" Nora Cutler, the girl at summer camp whom Drea spread the false rumor about and outed as a lesbian; an event she had selfishly 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. Eleanor T-bones Drea's car, sending her to the hospital, to create a sob story that earns Drea access to the Admissions Party.

During the party, Drea reveals Eleanor to be "Nosey Nora" to Max and friends, but immediately regrets it and apologizes to Eleanor for being a sociopath. Their emotional reconciliation is interrupted when Max confesses to releasing Drea's video, as he found her selfish behavior a risk to his own sociopathy. Eleanor secretly films the confession, quickly sharing the video at the party, turning everyone against Max.

As a result, Max is expelled from Rosehill and his spot at Yale is offered to Drea, who rejects it. Drea apologizes to Russ and they kiss, while Eleanor reconciles with Gabbi, and Max joins a support group to address his toxic masculinity.

Cast

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Production

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Development and casting

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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, citing inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's film Strangers on a Train (1951) and Taylor Swift's album Reputation (2017).[6][7] In November 2020, Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke were reported to star.[8] Additional cast members were announced in early 2021.[9][10][11]

Filming

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Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles in early 2021,[12][13] but was changed to Atlanta, Georgia, with the story taking place in Miami following a rewrite in order to accommodate Hawke's schedule, who was shooting Stranger Things, as director Robinson did not want to lose either of the main actresses.[14] Filming initially wrapped on August 7, 2021,[15] with later stages of production occurring in August 2022 in Miami, Florida.[16] Much of the filming took place at Oglethorpe University in suburban Atlanta.

Music

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Soundtrack

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Do Revenge soundtrack[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."for the girls"Haley Kiyoko, Oliver Peterhof, Marcus Lomax, Michelle BuzzHaley Kiyoko2:38
2."Do You Know (What It Takes)"Robyn, Denniz Pop, Max Martin, Herbie CrichlowRobyn3:41
3."CYBAH"Syd, Lucky Daye, Michael McGregor, Brandon ShoopSyd, Lucky Daye4:04
4."brutal"Olivia Rodrigo, Dan NigroOlivia Rodrigo2:24
5."The Impression That I Get"Dicky Barrett, Joe GittlemanThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones3:15
6."How's It Going to Be"Kevin Cadogan, Stephan JenkinsThird Eye Blind4:13
7."I Eat Boys"chloe moriondo, David Pramik, Steph Joneschloe moriondo2:43
8."Milionària"ROSALÍA, El GuinchoROSALÍA2:18
9."Celebrity Skin"Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Billy CorganHole2:43
10."Deceptacon"Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, Sadie BenningLe Tigre3:05
11."Blondes"Anna Hartley, Blu DeTiger, Rex DeTiger, Eskeerdo, Teddy Geiger, Julian Bunetta, Scott Harris, Jenna AndrewsBlu DeTiger2:46
12."MOVE"TOBi, Jessica Lee Hansell, Robin Hannibal Mølsted Braun, Alex Goose, Jon Bap, Tyler Demorest, Tavon ThompsonTOBi3:17
13."dumb dumb"Elie Rizk, maziemazie2:05
14."So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings"Caroline Polachek, Teddy Geiger, Dan NigroCaroline Polachek3:04
15."Easy Going"Kacy Hill, Jim-E Stack, Ethan GruskaKacy Hill2:43
16."How Bizarre - Orchestral Version"Alan Jansson, Pauly FuemanaThe Symphonic Pops3:47
17."Kids in America (cover)"Ricky Wilde, Marty WildeMaude Latour3:15
18."Pretend"Juliana Madrid, DJ Ben Roc, Simon Oscroft, Ross ClarkJuliana Madrid3:07
19."Flagpole Sitta"Aaron Huffman, Jeff J. Lin, Sean Nelson, Evan Sult,Harvey Danger3:37
20."Silk Chiffon"Naomi McPherson, Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, Ian Fitchuk, Daniel TashianMUNA, Phoebe Bridgers3:27
21."Bitter Bitch"HelenHelen2:17
22."she's all i wanna be"Tate McRae, Greg KurstinTate McRae3:27
23."Shame Reactions"Shelby Keller, Mia BerrinPom Pom Squad1:33
24."Happier Than Ever"Billie Eilish, FINNEASBillie Eilish4:59
25."Dead to Me"Chloe Adams, Matthew LonsdaleChloe Adams 
26."Praise You"Fatboy Slim, Camille YarbroughFatboy Slim5:23
27."Bitch"Meredith Brooks, Shelly PeikenMeredith Brooks, Maya Hawke (uncredited), Camila Mendes (uncredited)4:13
28."Dreams"Noel Hogan, Dolores O'RiordanThe Cranberries4:32

Release

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The film was released on Netflix on September 16, 2022.[18]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 83 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's 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."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[20]

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."; Spilde subtitled his review "Cruel Intentions", acknowledging the relationship to the 1999 film of that name and the presence of actress Sarah Michelle Gellar – who played the teen antagonist in that earlier film, tormenting the daughter of her school's headmaster, and appears as the headmaster in Do Revenge.[21] 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."[22] 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."[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Do Revenge". BBFC. September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Spencer, Ashley (September 14, 2022). "Do Revenge: Paying Homage to Teen Classics by Way of Hitchcock". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ Bitran, Tara (September 14, 2022). "Wait, Was That Sarah Michelle Gellar as the 'Do Revenge' Headmaster?". Netflix Tudum. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Donnely, Matt (October 14, 2020). "Jennifer Kaytin Robinson Reunites With Netflix for Hitchcock-Inspired Strangers (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Gilmore, Kelly (September 21, 2022). "How Taylor Swift Influenced Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke's Netflix Movie Do Revenge". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  8. ^ 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. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 28, 2021). "Rish Shah To Co-Star In The Netflix Pic Strangers From Someone Great Director". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  10. ^ Kanter, Jake (June 24, 2021). "Sophie Turner Joins Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's Netflix Feature Strangers". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  11. ^ 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. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Larasati, Dyah (August 10, 2022). "'Do Revenge': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far". Collider. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Gillespie, Katherine (April 7, 2021). "Camila Mendes Always Keeps Her Cool". Paper. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  14. ^ George, Crystal (September 16, 2022). "Where does Do Revenge take place? (Where was Do Revenge filmed?)". NetflixLife. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Shrestha, Naman (September 14, 2022). "Where Was Netflix's Do Revenge Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Gomez, Dessi (September 23, 2022). "Here Are All the Songs in 'Do Revenge'". TheWrap. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Jones, Tamera (July 20, 2022). "Maya Hawke & Camila Mendes Shine in First Images From Netflix's Do Revenge". Collider. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Do Revenge". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 24, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  20. ^ "Do Revenge". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Spilde, Coleman (September 16, 2022) [2022-09-15]. "'Do Revenge' Is a Generation-Defining Teen Masterpiece | Cruel Intentions". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  22. ^ Nicholson, Amy (September 15, 2022). "'Do Revenge' Review: Strangers on a Text Chain". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (September 16, 2022). "Do Revenge movie review & film summary (2022)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
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