Do Revenge

Do Revenge,” Netflix's new high school revenge-swap dramedy starring Maya Hawke and Camilla Mendes, is a minefield of '90s teen movie references — from.

I watched ‘Stranger Things,’ so I knew her work, and when I heard she was already attached, it made me want to be part of the project that much more.” “So I didn’t want the story of Eleanor to be about her being outed; it’s what happened when she was outed.” “But, also, part of what makes actors actors is that they are people who are good at having chemistry with people,” she added. Bonded by their respective traumas and dread about the coming school year, the two eventually hatch a plan to “do revenge” for each other and get away with it. And, on top of that, the emotional depth of the movie — it’s a really beautiful story about healing your trauma.” In fact, the director moved the filming location to Atlanta so that both Hawke and Mendes were able to sign on. “It was really about staying true to the deliciousness of ‘Strangers on a Train,’ within this world that feels really candy-coated, saturated and fun.” In addition to “Strangers on a Train,” Highsmith is perhaps best known for writing “The Talented Mr. A nude video of her is leaked online and the most likely culprit is her boyfriend, Max (Austin Abrams of “Euphoria” fame), who wields significantly more power over the privileged student body than Drea, who attends the school on a scholarship. That’s when, friendless and in risk of losing her chance at Yale, she meets a new transfer, Eleanor, who unlike Drea is no stranger to being a social pariah. And even the soundtrack of pop songs and camera work, which includes montages of school cliques and aerial shots, pay homage to the ‘90s teen genre — as do its central storylines. “Do Revenge,” Netflix’s new high school revenge-swap dramedy starring Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes, is a minefield of ‘90s teen movie references — from cliques with coordinating outfits to makeover schemes and house parties where popularity is made and lost.

"Do Revenge" has all the makings of an attention-generating machine, combining a "Mean Girls" vibe with the stars of two popular teen franchises in Camila ...

She directs her anger at dreamy ex-boyfriend Max (Abrams), who leaked an explicit tape of her, while Hawke's Eleanor has nursed an old grudge against a girl who leveled a false accusation against her in the course of outing her. Mostly, it's a story of unlikely friendship, set against the backdrop of another private school where the parties make Roman bacchanals seem restrained and pale by comparison. Yet the plot (based on a script by Robinson and Celeste Ballard) doesn't pursue that enticing prospect with much conviction, which might explain why it runs out of steam down the stretch.

Director and cowriter Jennifer Kaytin Robinson takes us inside her candy-coated new Netflix film with images of fashion, bearded dragons, and Sophie Turner.

'Riverdale' star Camila Mendes and 'Stranger Things' star Maya Hawke team up for Netflix's high school twist on 'Strangers on a Train,' from director ...

It was just like, “This is just a really cool project and I want to be in it, and like I don’t give a f— that I’m 26 playing in high school. I could see that you were running from a long day on “Stranger Things” to another long day on “Do Revenge,” then back to a long day on “Stranger Things.” The work she put in to both projects simultaneously was so impressive, and the fact that every time she showed up to work I didn’t see the exhaustion. It was a big undertaking and touched a lot of soft spaces in our hearts. Your temperament through all of that was so impressive, and not a lot of people can pull that off. The second I realized that this movie was going to be that, getting to work with amazing people who really care about it, it didn’t matter if I’d be playing a bush or a lamp post or a keychain. Like, “I just love too hard” or, “My tragic flaw is that I care too much!” I don’t think that’s the case with Drea and Eleanor. Every now and then someone has hurt my feelings, and the way they hurt my feelings, I had to be like, “Gosh, you’re so smart. You hurt my feelings in the exact way that my feelings can be hurt.” Sometimes someone does something to you that doesn’t look that bad on the surface, but really hits your soft spot ... And this is credit to Jenn’s writing and directing, to set up a scene where you have two characters you’ve been following and they both have a very strong opinion about what’s happened, and as an audience member, neither one is right and neither one is wrong. But when we’re in the scene of our own lives, we’re like, “No! “I had nothing but time and resources and I had my two co-stars with me and we were all just watching ‘Harry Potter’ movies all week,” she said. I feel like I’ve been Drea at low points in my life, where I’ve been vengeful or I’ve wanted to hurt somebody who hurt me, and I’ve felt motivated by those same dark desires.

Do Revenge, with Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke, is too cluttered to service any of its many moving parts, homages, or tones.

The show will feature a very young Ahsoka Tano and her mother Pav-ti (voiced by Janina Gavankar), as well as the return of Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn.](/videos/star-wars-tales-of-the-jedi-official-trailer) [Street Fighter 6 Reveals Its Full Launch Roster2h ago - A mix of new and old - plus your cutomizable creation.](/articles/street-fighter-6-reveals-its-full-launch-roster) [Marvel’s Thunderbolts Roster Isn't Very Electrifying… A big issue here is that things aren't supposed to make all that much sense for a large run of the story because everything's nurturing the aforementioned twist. The film, though, is somewhat lax with this set up since even before Drea and Eleanor meet, Drea outright obliterates the life of someone else who wronged her ( [Game of Thrones](/articles/2019/05/23/game-of-thrones-sn-8-review)' Sophie Turner in brief role), making it seem like she's more than capable of handling her own revenging. It's set at a posh school for the ultra wealthy and asks a great deal of us when it comes to investing in the troubles and turmoils of the preposterously privileged. [Riverdale](/articles/2018/10/11/riverdale-season-3-premiere-review-labor-day-archie-jail)'s Camila Mendes and [Stranger Things](/articles/stranger-things-season-4-part-2-review)' Maya Hawke star as Drea and Eleanor, two seniors who agree to ruin the lives of the others' tormentor.

From a '10 Things I Hate About You'–inspired paintball date to a 'Cruel' cameo, here's a breakdown of teen movie Easter eggs hidden in plain sight.

Robinson Library, in honor of Do Revenge’s director and co-writer? “All three of us really immersed ourselves in all of these films,” she says. “I feel like coming back to them as a filmmaker, I was just really taken aback about how beautiful these films are.”

Hairstylist Katie Ballard on the '90s-inspired aesthetic she crafted alongside the film's stars.

“It’s not a word that I used a lot until this film, but it’s basically just not a hair out of place,” says Ballard, who used “As I sat and chatted with Maya, the references that came up were actually her mom, Uma, and Taylor Swift,” says Ballard of what became “the most interesting part” of designing each character’s style. “If you picture a really slicked, high 40-inch pony, that’s the epitome of the ‘snatched’ look.” A long brunette version that matched her natural hair color during her “awkward” phase in the beginning, and a bright blonde that Ballard notes represents her “coming into her power.” Hawke and Ballard referenced the iconic Pulp Fiction bob that Uma Thurman wore for the latter, but this time in a Swift-level shade of blonde designed by wig artist Robert Miller-Navarre. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Do Revenge reimagines the familiar thrill of a plot-driven makeover scene. In the dark comedy, Hawke plays Eleanor, a wealthy outcast who comes together with Mendes’s character Drea, an insider experiencing a fall from social grace, all at the expense of their prep school enemies.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote and directed the film, spoke about the influences behind 'Do Revenge' and how it taps into teenage girl rage.

“I wanted it to elicit a feeling in you,” she says. It was in the very first draft that she wrote,” Robinson says of the term inspired by Glenn Close’s bunny killing turn in Fatal Attraction. “There are definitely some Reputation undertones in the film,” says Robinson, who is a fan of the singer. “That feeling that it hurts to exist starts in those middle school and high school years, but it doesn’t go away. “We really blew it out and wanted it to feel color soaked,” she says. “I heard her say it and was just like, ‘Yeah, Maya, that’s perfect,’” she says. “She really brought so much insight and nuance to the character,” she says. “Cami really created her character visually: the hair, makeup, the snatched wardrobe,” she says. “They’re very tapped in and really understand the demographic,” Robinson says. The Cruel Intentions star plays the movie’s only adult character, a “juicy and fun role” for the former teen queen that was “That came because Netflix told me to cut [the line] ‘that dumb bitch’ and I thought it would be funny to start off the frame with that license plate,” she says. “It was one of those things where it almost immediately clicked,” Robinson tells TIME when recalling the original pitch to adapt the novel.

Sophie Turner screams swear words in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's "Do Revenge," but Netflix executives were less than thrilled.