Do Revenge 2022 Movie Review

『📝 Between Revenge and Friendship: A Bold Teen Black Comedy』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Do Revenge (2022)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Black Comedy / Teen Coming-of-Age / Drama
🗓️ Production & Release: Universal Pictures, 2022, Feature Film
📢 Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
🖋️ Screenplay: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Celeste Ballard
📖 Inspiration: Patricia Highsmith’s novel “Strangers on a Train” and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 film adaptation
📺 Platform: Netflix and other streaming services

👩‍💼 Cast: Talia Ryder – Gabbi
Maya Hawke – Eleanor Leighton
Ava Capri – Carissa Johnson

🧩 Deep Story Analysis (Spoilers)

🤝 Twisting the 21st-Century Teen Revenge Narrative

“Do Revenge” faithfully follows the classic teen comedy tropes of the 1990s and early 2000s while blending them with Gen Z’s emotional sensibility and complex moral compass, reinventing itself as a modern revenge story. Inspired by Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train”, the film transcends a simple revenge plot, offering a sharp critique of female relationships, internalized misogyny, and upper-class hypocrisy.

🌄 Reinterpreting the Classics: A Homage to 90s Teen Films

“Do Revenge” visually and narratively pays open tribute to iconic teen films like “Clueless,” “Jawbreaker,” and “Mean Girls.”

• Vibrant Aesthetics: Set in Miami’s elite private school “Rosehill Academy,” the film’s characters flaunt exaggeratedly glamorous, stylish outfits, giving the film a camp-inspired satirical visual flair. This design underscores the artificial perfection of the privileged class.

• Use of Clichés: The fallen queen bee (Drea) meets the quiet transfer student (Eleanor); high school hierarchies and lavish revenge parties are cleverly reimagined, offering familiarity wrapped in freshness.

✍️ Character Analysis: No One Is Entirely “Good”

The film’s greatest strength lies in refusing to portray its protagonists, Drea and Eleanor, as purely innocent or virtuous.

• Drea Torres: A scholarship student surviving among the elite, Drea maintains her position by faking perfection and resorting to manipulation. Her revenge stems from self-centered anger and a desire to exploit her own victimhood.

• Eleanor: Appearing as a calm, trauma-driven victim seeking justice, Eleanor hides calculated intelligence and deep resentment beneath her composure.

• Max Broussard: He embodies the “fake woke misogynist” archetype — a man who publicly advocates for women’s rights while secretly perpetuating toxic hypocrisy. Max represents the dual morality of privileged men.

💥 Revenge Swapping and the Shocking Twist

The story unfolds through an intriguing “revenge swapping” setup, but its mid-film twist completely redefines the film’s thematic core.

• A Calculated Encounter: Drea and Eleanor’s meeting was no coincidence. Eleanor, once known as “Nosy Nora”, was outed and bullied by Drea years earlier. Her approach to Drea was a long-planned act of ultimate revenge.

• Drea’s Amnesia: Eleanor’s identity exposes Drea’s self-centered blindness. Drea doesn’t even remember the cruelty she inflicted, highlighting her hypocrisy — obsessed with revenge while ignoring her own role as a perpetrator.

• The Chain of Revenge: The twist reveals that revenge is not about punishing Max, but about the ongoing cycle of hurt and vengeance among women. When Eleanor allies with Max, his manipulative betrayal forces both girls to confront the real root of evil.

🌈 Hidden Romance and Identity Beneath Revenge

In “Do Revenge”, Eleanor’s love story isn’t just a side plot — it’s a journey of reclaiming identity and forming authentic connections amid deception. It explores the tension between her performative self and her authentic self.

🕸 Disguised Romance: A Strategic Infiltration of Max’s Circle

Under the revenge pact, Eleanor must infiltrate Max’s elite social circle. Her romance thus begins as a calculated tool.

• Fake Identity: Eleanor transforms from a “quiet outsider” to a “magnetic mystery girl,” gaining Max’s trust to collect evidence against him.

• Meeting Gabbi, Max’s Sister: While infiltrating the group, Eleanor meets Gabbi — Max’s sister and the only sincere and morally grounded character among them. Though her mission is revenge, Eleanor gradually develops genuine feelings for Gabbi’s honesty and empathy.

✨ Clash of Identity: Revenge vs. Real Emotion

The relationship between Eleanor and Gabbi exposes the conflict between vengeance and authentic emotion.

• Replaying the Outing Trauma: Eleanor pretends she was outed by her ex-girlfriend Carissa — a fabricated trauma masking the real “Nosy Nora” incident caused by Drea. Gabbi empathizes deeply, offering Eleanor a safe space to explore her queer identity and hidden pain.

• Awakening Genuine Emotion: While acting out her false persona, Eleanor rediscovers real joy and affection through Gabbi. Gabbi sees through Eleanor’s façade yet accepts her fully, prompting Eleanor’s longing for human connection beyond vengeance.

🤝 The Final Choice: Ending Revenge, Restoring Connection

Eleanor’s romance becomes the emotional key to choosing between destruction and forgiveness.

• Loss of Connection: When Drea exposes Eleanor’s secret, her revenge plan collapses — and she risks losing not just her cover, but also Gabbi’s love. This loss pushes Eleanor to reassess her entire life driven by revenge.

• Redemption Through Forgiveness: After Drea and Eleanor jointly expose Max’s hypocrisy, the story chooses reconciliation and growth over ruin. Eleanor forgives Drea, releasing her toxic fixation on vengeance.

• Happy Ending: In the closing scene, Eleanor skips graduation and drives away with Drea — implying she rekindled her relationship with Gabbi. Her love story ultimately symbolizes choosing self-acceptance and genuine happiness over revenge.

Eleanor’s romance isn’t merely a subplot — it’s a narrative of healing and reclaiming identity. Her love for Gabbi teaches her that revenge alone cannot fill a life.

📚 Misogyny, Forgiveness, and New Solidarity

“Do Revenge” uses its revenge narrative to explore modern gender politics and female relationships.

• Critique of Internalized Misogyny: Both Drea and Eleanor are victims and perpetrators. Their mutual cruelty reflects how women, by competing and tearing each other down, sustain systems of power like those embodied by Max.

• Freedom Through Forgiveness: In the climax, Drea sincerely apologizes to Eleanor, acknowledging her selfishness. This act of forgiveness frees both women from the endless cycle of revenge, paving the way for true female solidarity.

• Justice Against the Real Villain: Ultimately, Drea and Eleanor unite to expose Max’s hypocrisy and misogyny. Their revenge evolves into a collective act of justice against systemic evil, rather than personal retribution.

💫 High School Comedy Reimagined

“Do Revenge” may wear the mask of a witty teen comedy, but beneath its stylish veneer lies a complex moral and social critique. Drea and Eleanor are neither heroes nor villains — just two flawed young women caught between guilt and growth. Their revenge tale becomes a journey toward self-discovery, forgiveness, and genuine solidarity. By reinterpreting classic tropes through a Gen Z lens, the film establishes a new milestone for the teen revenge genre.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★