Coralie Fargeat's "Revenge"

TONIGHT’S FILM.

CORALIE FARGEAT’S “REVENGE”

WHAT IT IS.

A spoiler-free description of the movie.

A woman’s romantic getaway with her wealthy boyfriend is disrupted by an unannounced visit from his friends.

IF YOU LIKE.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film.

▶ Revenge. Because it’s about revenge.

▶ Blood and guts. Coralie Fargeat directed this film prior to “The Substance”. So, you know. Imagery that makes you go “yuck”.

▶ Actors acting like something really hurts. tnmn community, let’s appreciate this skill. It’s probably hard to pretend like something is agonizing.

MY TAKE.

What I liked about it.

Many directors are afraid of making audiences uncomfortable. In contrast, one gets the sense that, for Coralie Fargeat, discomfort is sort of the point. So, let’s get this out of the way then: Fargeat’s debut feature film, “Revenge”, is disturbing.

If you’ve seen her 2024 breakout hit, “The Substance”, you probably have an idea of what to expect.

Where most choose to point the camera in the other direction, Coralie Fargeat pushes in closer. You will see things that you’d prefer not to see, with alarming fidelity. And it will last longer than you’d like. Whether she’s lingering on a bloodied character in agonizing pain, or a desert spider drowning in urine; nothing is sacred in a Fargeat film.

Somehow, though, none of these moments feel gratuitous in the way they might in the hands of another filmmaker. The latter moment (yes, the spider drowning in urine), is arguably one of the thesis shots of the film.

Through the use of this unsubtle imagery, and really good sound editing, by the way, Fargeat delivers a wildly potent story. The kind of story that stays with you.

Fargeat is a story chemist, you see; she distills stories down to their most venomous elements. Around her lead actress, she sketches out the simplest supporting characters. A strongman. A coward. A bystander. Caricatures, by design.

Fargeat refuses to provide her antagonists with any cover, character nuance or complexity – they don’t deserve it. These characters are defined by their most disturbing acts. Perhaps it’s a statement. But it also serves the story. It reduces distractions and brings focus to the core narrative. One concerned with rebirth and strength in the face of absolute cruelty.

This cocktail of truth and discomfort, imagery and sound, unrelenting simplicity; this is what makes watching a Coralie Fargeat film so special. She makes you to look. Confront the truth and sit with it. Even as the camera pushes in more closely, for longer than you’d like.

Enjoy the film.

OH, NEAT.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ Coralie Fargeat edited her own short trailer before the movie was made to court financiers to fund it. In her words: “And that was really what convinced people to hear that I was a special voice. And it was like one minute of stuff, all mostly handmade images, but the soul of the movie was there.”²

▶ “Revenge” debuted two months before the #MeToo movement took off; timely given its subject matter.

THE QUOTE.

One great line of dialogue from the film.