Well...how can I start a review talking about a movie like this? Revenge movies are the ultimate escapist entertainment because you are rooting for a hero to avenge a person's death or stand their ground against the villains. There are revenge movies that are powerful and thought-provoking, yet, there are others that you have to suspend your disbelief and just go with it. I think this movie is a bit of both: this is a movie that will have moments that will make you roll your eyes but its powerful message will get you cheering for her character. Plus, what I appreciate more about it is that the movie is never afraid to push the envelope.
An American socialite named Jen (Matilda Lutz) is having a secret relationship with French millionaire, Richard (Kevin Janssens). The couple fly out to Richard's secluded home in the middle of the desert for a weekend getaway before his annual hunting trip with Richard's friends, Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchéde). However, Richard's friends arrive a day early, disappointing him because he was hoping to keep Jen a secret. The three men and Jen have an exciting night just drinking and dancing.
The next morning, when Richard is away, Stan tries to get Jen to have sex with him, even though he thinks she was giving him some hints last night. When she refuses, Stan rapes Jen even with Dimitri ignoring the act. Richard returns and berates Stan for his acts. Richard offers a sum of money to Jen to forget about the incident. After Richard's refusal to send Jen home, Jen runs off into the desert as the men chase her. Jen is pushed off the cliff by Richard and is impaled on a tree during the fall and is left for dead, as the three men start their hunting trip like nothing happened.
Like I said in the beginning of this review, the movie takes chances of pushing the envelope by blending such grotesque and disturbing images with a grotesque and disturbing situation. This movie is socially relevant and conscious to today because of what is going on in the news with the sexual harassment allegations and other relevant topics. I will warn you that anybody will be squeamish by the first 20-30 minutes and it is understandable because this is the tone that the movie inhabits throughout the movie. The squeamish violence is the undertone of the situation of a revenge-fueled, wounded woman, mentally and physically, to go after the men who hurt her. But, again, you cheer for her to get justice.
Matilda Lutz gives a fantastic performance that transcends a one-dimensional feminine character to a powerful, angry woman with wounds that may never heal but to feel better once justice is served. It is her movie from beginning to end. And, Kevin Janssens is quite solid as the boyfriend who tries to placate the situation. Director Coralie Fargeat explores the revenge flick from the point of view of a victim, specially, a female victim of rape. It turns the revenge genre in a 360-degree angle with more complexity and style. Sometimes, the style does get carried away and becomes a bit of an interference with the story and logic does get thrown out the window. Plus, I think the ending is a bit abrupt for me.
To be honest, I don't like to label genre movies as masculinist or feminist or whatever because it should be different types of genre movies for different types of enjoyment. It whatever serves the purpose of the viewer's needs or wants. Even though the movie is carried with illogical errors that could have ended the movie immediately, this is a relentless, violent movie that borders on craziness, capitalizing on the tone and story that epitomizes today's current news. Also, it is fueled with grand entertainment.
***1/2
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