FemmeFilmFest Review: Revenge directed by Coralie Fargeat

Having tip-toed on the verge of being exploitative in its graphical depiction of sexual assault versus actually being empowering, the rape-and-revenge genre has been a hit and miss since its formal inception in the 70s. Ranking from women being avenged by others to the survivor executing her own revenge agenda, the genre’s typical overall arch has often been dominated by misstep and male perspectives.

French director Coralie Fargeat, however, manages to bring some refreshing new takes in her highly stylized debut Revenge, pushing the door further open to an extended discussion about violence against women from a female perspective.

Unlike earlier incarnations of the genre, her main character Jen (Matilda Lutz) is no successful, tough as nails career woman threatening the self-perceived masculinity of her predators. Fargeat opts for portraying her as a sweet doll character, with long blonde hair, pink nails and earrings and a tendency to draw attention to her body.

This setup pushes the viewer straight from the start to reevaluate his own prejudice and ingrained thinking when it comes to female sexuality. Especially since her assaulters will later argue that she not only made a move on them but “it’s just too hard to resist you”.

The men in question are married Richard (Kevin Janssens), with whom Jen is having an affair, and his slimy friends Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchède). Camping out in a luxury villa in the middle of the desert for a secret getaway, Richard and Jen are surprised by his buddies who have arrived early for a hunting trip. With no other means of transportation than a helicopter to take them back to the city, Jen sticks out the rest of the day and the night with this trio of highly intoxicated and obviously lustful men.

With Richard away the next morning to sort out some legal issues, one of his friends deems her prior playfulness as an open invitation to make a move on her. When she rejects him, the hurt male ego of old surfaces. She was asking for it, after all, she made a move, the chorus goes. This entitlement results in him raping the young woman and the other willingly looking the other way.

The classical arch would typically demand that Jen repurposes this pain as a trigger for turning into an angel of vengeance. But Fargeat goes further with her story than solemnly utilizing the assault experience. Rather she takes a more elaborated stand on physical and societal violence against women.

When Richard returns, he doesn’t present himself as a shield against her rapist but pushes the envelope even further by trying to first pay her off and then kill her. The reason: Jen has become a liability. She might tell his family or the authorities and therefore threaten his well-oiled powerful lifestyle.

Jen, therefore, is not only the subject of rape, but a woman being crushed in every possible way and having to find her voice. Her literal crucifixion and rebirth happen as she is thrown down a cliff and impaled by a tree. Being stranded in this deserted land stripe with the three men, her will to survive and to take revenge kicks in, putting her more in line with Rambo or Mad Max than classical movie rape victims.

This vengeance is combined with the explicit presentation of bloody gore. Fargeat doesn’t hold back, body parts are pierced, cut and shot off at a regular interval. Rape becomes revenge, as Jen penetrates the men’s bodies with sharp glass, bullets and knives. The excellent soundtrack and the swift action create their own rhythm, feeding into the film’s crunchy sound design and the visual look of its highly saturated frames.

If the playful cinematography is not framing the violence, the lens also plays with traditional images of the male gaze. By staring at Jen’s body through binoculars, the whole mis-en-scène becomes meta, social comment and a misdemeanour at the same time. The portrayal of the men is equally more complex than that of creepy predators. Jen’s assaulters are everyday men who feel threatened.

Their unsuspicious look and the lengths to which they are willing to go are ultimately what makes them truly terrifying. It is therefore up to the young woman to take them down once and for all. As an audience, we cheer her on for every step she takes as this wishful violent fantasy unfolds itself on-screen.