The film is the story of an American woman who goes to a remote villa in the Moroccan desert with her married boyfriend only to be raped and left for dead by her boyfriend and his friends who embark on a hunting trip only to realize that she is not dead and wants to kill them. It is a film with a simple premise that explores the idea of vengeance, yet it is in its setting and the dynamic between male and female is what makes the story different from typical revenge stories. Notably as writer Coralie Fargeat does explore the male gaze and how their dismissive view on this young woman, they meet would be their undoing. Although the young woman in Jen (Matilda Lutz) is an American woman who believes her boyfriend Richard (Kevin Janssens) would give her all the things she wants. A night of partying, raped by one of his friends, chased, and then be left for dead would force her to face a darker reality in an environment that is foreign to her. Even as she is someone who must go by her own survival instincts as well as a tiny bag of peyote that Richard had to go on a journey for vengeance.
Fargeat’s direction is stylish in the way she emphasizes on different visual traits to play into this journey of revenge with elements of surrealism as well as playing to the male gaze. Shot on location in Morocco with its deserts being a key location for the film, Fargeat utilizes wide and medium shots to get a scope into the vast space of where these characters are. She also uses close-ups and extreme close-ups to play into the sense of dread and exploitation as the first act plays into Jen being this object of desire for Richard as well as his friends Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchede) where the former dances with Jen and later rape her the next morning after she refuses his advances. Richard would come home to learn about what happened only to make her keep quiet about everything until she threatened to tell his wife about what happened is when things escalated badly where she would be chased through the desert and then pushed off a cliff by Richard.
Fargeat’s direction early on has this kinetic style that would also be reflected in the editing where she and co-editors Bruno Safar and Jerome Eltabet would use fast-cuts and offbeat rhythmic cuts to play into a chaotic style that would be prevalent in a sequence involving the peyote that Jen would have possession of. Fargeat would also emphasize a graphic approach to the violence as blood is a major detail in the film in the fact that Jen’s torso lands onto a tree branch that she would have to pull out. There are also these intense extreme close-ups of wounds on body as Fargeat goes into some excruciating detail into the severity of these wounds. The violence is also unforgiving in its overall presentation where Fargeat would slow things down visually to include long and intricate tracking shots which is a direct contrast to the way the film is presented early on. Particularly in the editing where it allows shot to linger for more than a few seconds into minutes to add to the suspense. The film’s climax where Fargeat has this young woman go on this mission for revenge as it is about the man who fucked her over and left her for dead. Overall, Fargeat crafts an unsettling yet enthralling revenge film about a woman who goes on a hunt of her own.
Cinematographer Robrecht Heyvaert does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its vibrant usage of colored shades and mood for the daytime exterior scenes in the desert and at the villa to the usage of available light and fire for the exterior scenes at night in the desert. Costume designer Elisabeth Bornaut does excellent work with the costumes in the stylish clothing Jen would have early in the film including her pink-star earrings with the clothes that the men wear. Special makeup effects artists Pierre Emmanuel Kass and Laetitia Quillery do incredible work with the makeup effects in the way body wounds are presented in graphic detail including scenes involving gore as it is a highlight of the film.
Sound designers Jerome Faurel, Alain Feat, and Eric Mauer do superb work with the sound as it play into the natural sound of the locations as well as the sound effects that play into some of the body horror in the film. The film’s music by Robin Coudert, in his ROB alias, does amazing work with the film’s soundtrack with its eerie and pulsating electronic music score that play into the suspense and terror while music supervisors Stephanie Sfeir, Clement Souchier, and Jeanne Trellu create a soundtrack that include elements of pop and electronic music including pieces from Brodski and Clive Hicks.
The casting by Martin Rougier is wonderful as it feature a voice appearance from Barbara Gateau as the voice of Richard’s wife and Jean-Louis Tribes as the helicopter pilot who drops Richard and Jen off at the villa in the film’s opening scene. Guillaume Bouchede is fantastic as Dimitri as fat slob who is a skilled hunter despite his boorish appearance. Vincent Colombe is excellent as Stan as a hunter and close friend of Richard who flirts with Jen and later rape her where he is shocked over the aftermath only to get himself into some serious trouble. Kevin Janssens is brilliant as Richard as this rich married man who is the embodiment of the male chauvinism where he is this alpha male that has fucked with the wrong woman. Finally, there’s Matilda Lutz in a phenomenal performance as Jen as this young woman who is on a vacation thinking she is there for a good time until she is raped, assaulted, and left for dead. Lutz brings a physicality as a woman who is out of her comfort zone in a desolate environment but with limited survival skills that prove to be useful where she turns into this stone-cold killer who walks barefoot and a peyote hangover. It is truly a breakout performance for the young actress.
Revenge is a spectacular film by Coralie Fargeat that features a great performance from Matilda Lutz. Along with its supporting cast, vibrant visuals, a mesmerizing film soundtrack, uncompromising approach to violence, and a simple yet gripping take on vengeance. This is a film that takes a simple premise and adds a visceral approach to the subject of revenge as it plays into the many fallacies of chauvinism. In the end, Revenge is a tremendous film by Coralie Fargeat.
(The Substance (2024 film))
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