Revenge, 2015.
Directed by Kjersti Heinsbo
Starring Siren Jorgensen, Frode Winther, Maria Bock, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, and Rakel Hemre.
SYNOPSIS:
In Western Norway, Rebekka is looking for retribution. Under false identity, she seeks out her deceased sister’s violator and embeds herself into his idyllic family to now destroy his life.
Not to be confused with the upcoming French thriller from Coralie Fargeat, which is garnering a mass of positive critical attention, this Revenge (Hevn) is a Norwegian thriller that covers similar themes but in a less overt and strikingly violent way as Fargeat’s piece.
Writer and director, Kjersti Steinsbo’s Scandi-thriller tells the tale of Rebekka (Siren Jorgensen) who enters the life of a seemingly quiet, meaningless couple of remote hoteliers in Western Norway. The film opens with Rebekka intent on inflicting physical harm upon the husband Morten (Frode Winther), but why? As things transpire, Rebekka refrains from instant violent retribution and decides to slowly pick at Morten’s life, manipulating events and attempting to ruin his life and marriage as we learn the truth behind her motivations, that Morten, a rapist with a predilection for under-age girls had raped Rebekka’s younger sister years previously, an event which haunted Emma and led to her committing suicide as an adult.
Revenge is everything you would expect from good Scandinavian cinema. It’s refrained, thoughtful, slow burning, dramatically engaging, and enveloped in stark, cold and beautiful scenery. The landscapes, particularly given the films remote setting of popular country holiday escape (off season) is both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time. The direction from Steinsbo is tight and never less than engaging, aided very well by some great performances, particularly from Jorgensen as vengeful Rebekka, and Maria Bock as Morten’s wife. It’s beautifully photographed by cinematographer, Anna Myking.
The film only really lacks an ending that will stick with you. It’s not quite impacting enough following the drawn build up, but perhaps that’s thinking from a more Hollywood orientated perspective. It certainly opts a little more for subtlety over theatrics.
Well written, gorgeous visuals and uniformly excellent performances make Revenge an engaging piece of cinema that is well worth your time.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
