Revenge, written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, is a visceral and subversive take on the revenge genre that turns traditional cinematic tropes on their head. Reimagining male violence from a feminist perspective, Coralie’s 2017 debut film is a powerful commentary on rape culture—between individuals, on screen, and in Hollywood. We are posting this lookback now as part of our SWAN Day 2025 celebration honoring the career of Demi Moore (which reached its peak this year when she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Coralie’s newest film The Substance).
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The film follows Jen (Matilda Lutz), a young woman who accompanies her married lover Richard to a remote desert getaway. When Richard’s friends arrive early and brutally assault Jen, they attempt to leave her for dead to cover up their actions. But against all odds, Jen survives and transforms from victim to hunter, pursuing a brutal revenge against her attackers.
Coralie Fargeat, who wrote and directed Revenge as her debut feature, comes onto the film scene with a bang, literally and metaphorically. With this film, she masterfully subverts the typical male-centered revenge thriller, reimagining a typically exploitative genre with a distinctly female gaze. This comes out in her directorial choices, big and small. Most importantly, Coralie refuses to sexualize Jen’s trauma; though Jen is blonde, beautiful, and dons a miniskirt, this is never used to demean her visually or narratively. Jen faces some disturbing injuries, but the blood and gore that Jen has inflicted on the men who have tried to hurt her is tenfold. And she does it all wearing hot pink nail polish!
Coralie’s screenplay subverts the male-dominated revenge narrative by centering Jen’s agency and resilience. In a particularly powerful metaphor, a close up of Jen’s face using binoculars parallels a close up of her rapist using the ocular lens of a rifle, literally subverting the male gaze in an almost satisfyingly violent way. In the beginning, Revenge is admittedly triggering and it’s hard to watch Jen be mistreated so horrifically, but the progression of the film brings a deep catharsis as these horrible men face the consequences they deserve.
Unlike so many films that often objectify women, Revenge is an emphatic statement about bodily autonomy and female survival.
A powerful deconstruction of sexual violence in cinema, Revenge reveals a chilling metaphor for Hollywood’s systemic abuse, with Jen initially positioned as an aspiring actress whose attackers weaponize professional opportunities as a form of coercion. Her attackers’ promise of career advancement mirrors the real-world power dynamics that have long silenced women in the entertainment industry.
Revenge similarly comments on the misogyny that has long taken place on-screen in Hollywood. Unlike so many films that often objectify women, Coralie’s film is an emphatic statement about bodily autonomy and female survival. Jen’s transformation is not about male-defined revenge, but about reclaiming her own power and narrative. The film ruthlessly dismantles the male gaze, turning the hunters into the hunted and presenting female rage as a legitimate and complex emotional response to violation. Yet, rather than presenting the horrifying rape culture in Hollywood and in society at large, and leaving us to contend with it all on our own, Coralie uses Revenge to fight against these issues and the men who create them—powerfully, brutally, and without mercy.
© Julia Lasker (3/29/25) – Special for FF2 Media
LEARN MORE/DO MORE
Click HERE to read our press release announcing SWAN Day 2025.
Click HERE to read about 2025’s 5 OSCAR NOMINATIONS for The Substance.
Read about Coralie’s win at Cannes here.
Watch Revenge here.
Watch The Substance here.
Read about FF2’s coverage of Revenge in 2018 here and here.
CREDITS & PERMISSIONS
Featured Photo: Matilda Lutz at the 75th annual Cannes International Film Festival. (5/18/22) Credit: © PHOTOPQR / NICE MATIN / Patrice Lapoirie / MAXPPP / Alamy Stock Photo. Image ID: 2K7HH56
Middle Photo: Matilda Lutz & filmmaker Coralie Fargeat pose together at the Paris premiere of their film Revenge. (2/1/18) Credit: Fausto Marci / Alamy Stock Photo. Image ID: M25XAA
Bottom Photo: Filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (right) with Matilda Lutz (her leading lady) at the Paris premiere of their film Revenge. (2/1/18) Credit: Photo by Jerome Domine / Abaca Press / Alamy Stock Photo. Image ID: 2DCTNN0
