Do Revenge: Cult of Unlikeable Character
More than anything, we all long for characters we like. We want people to root for, people we see ourselves in, people we just get.
The film Do Revenge is a visual heaven. From the slightly ridiculous pastel uniforms to the glamorous drama that surrounds the lives of West Coast private school elites, the glamorous frames consume you. The story covers the fall and calculated rise of Drea, as her thirst for revenge tangles her in a web of her anger. Do Revenge has everything: a score copied and pasted from a Spotify teen angst playlist, nostalgia of past teen drama classics, and a glorious colour scheme and costume designs. It has everything; everything except likeable characters. While it promises much, the film fails to create connections to characters that yield an understanding of their struggles and motivations, and still engages in the nuances of perspective and privileges.
The story follows Drea and Eleanor, who meet and plot to seek revenge for each other after a private video of Drea got leaked by her boyfriend, leading to the loss of her friends and social standing. Eleanor’s revenge is on a girl from her past who outed her, who is later revealed to be Drea. This plot gives Drea’s character much nuance, because as the audience rightfully empathizes and roots for her as she finds strength and courage to face someone who violated her trust, we can also recognize the privileges she is capable of holding and wielding to hurt others. It works similarly for Eleanor, who while queer, is a wealthy person who has never fought for a way in as Drea has had to enter these institutions. The plot provides an opportunity to move away from dichotomized identities of villain and hero, allowing us to see how privilege can be upheld by those of us marginalized, However the lack of visual insight into Drea’s life does an injustice to the understanding of her character, her relationship with Eleanor, and the understanding of privilege.
While Drea’s character differs from those around her, through her scholarship status and having no chances to mess up compared to her wealthy peers, there is no visual evidence of this difference. We only see her relatively smaller house, and mentions of her mother, whose busy work schedule has taken her out of the frame. This, however, is not enough. Similar to her elite classmates, Drea feels removed from us as viewers. We cannot see her as a working-class woman desperate to make her way up, so desperate that when that way comes close to falling apart, revenge is a truly viable option. Viewers are incapable of fully empathizing with Drea because there is no clear understanding of her motivations.
The distance we feel from Drea’s character could also serve as a critique of upholding privilege and the status quo from a marginalized position in society. While Drea is a working-class woman of color, throughout the film, she does little to challenge the norms surrounding her. Instead, she opts to reinforce them when it benefits her. This is particularly evident when she outs Eleanor’s queer identity when they were younger, upholding dangerously homophobic sentiments. While Drea’s marginalized identity contributes to the immobility she has in her school and other elite institutions when she is violated, it does not inhibit her ability to harm other people. In addition, not having a visual presentation of Drea’s background limits the potential of this critique on identity. It weakens the friendship formed between Eleanor and Drea because it doesn’t seem to end with a mutual understanding of the privileges they both hold, for Eleanor wealth and for Drea heterosexuality.
While Do Revenge offers an eye catching and enticing critique of identity and positionality, it could be enhance with moments that capture the relationship and backgrounds of characters, giving them more layers than what dialogue can offer.