Revenge (Hevn)

Full disclosure - REVENGE is not a horror film.

When I got the screener, I THOUGHT it was a horror film, but no. I was fine with the fact, however. I don't JUST watch horror. After I figured it out, I said, "Well, I just won't put it on the blog," and continued watching. However, when I finished it, it was so damn good that I had to write about it even if it's not horror. It's a fantastic film.

Note two. It's a foreign film and I know some people are deathly afraid of subtitles and having to read, so if you are one of those folks, be warned.  Moving on.

The film is about Rebekka - a woman looking for payback. She goes after her sister's violator in Western Norway and manages to get into their family and community looking to kill the person who ruined her sister. But, as Kahn says, "Revenge is a dish best served cold."  :::grin:::   Why not really make the suffering last? She begins a campaign to ruin the person who ruined her sister's life.





I just finished watching the film and it's just fantastic. It's a character driven drama with so many sharp edges to it that it really keeps you engaged and wondering what will happen next. There are moments of dread that spike up and really added a small "thriller" element to the film that I loved. Like when you are driving along in a car and suddenly hit a dip or hill in the road that shifts you around like a roller coaster for a moment. You're left slightly shocked and you heart is beating faster...and it's fun!

Kjersti Steinsbø's screenplay (based on the story by Ingvar Ambjørnsen) is super tight and rockets along at a pace that makes it a really fun ride. I had to look up Steinsbø's other work and now I plan to seek out the other films which include a film about a son who's umbilical cord is permanently attached to his mother so they are together all the time (WTF?!) , another about a death metal band getting stuck in a Catholic school and another that needs nothing more said about it than it's title - Viking Vampires. Love it. :)

The acting is fantastic as well. Just...mind blowing. Siren Jørgensen's performance as Rebekka rolls through so many emotions throughout the film that it's mind blowing. She has her big secret about her sister, comes to kill someone, than changes her mind and works on becoming part of his inner circle - all the while plotting his demise. She becomes friends with his wife. Watches their child. All the while bouncing between blank hate and kind cheer and friendship. Wonderful.

And the supporting cast is fantastic as well. Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Trond Espen Seim, Helene Bergsholm, Maria Bock Maria Bock all come in as amazing and move through scenes solidly. There's something about the European acting style that I really enjoy. Not sure what it is. It's more...believable? I can just watch and I don't get caught up in thinking they are acting. They just...are the characters. Especially the tension between Frode Winther as Morten, the man who did the sister wrong and Siren Jørgensen as Rebekka. Jebus....tension you could cut with a knife.

And the environment is like a "COME TO NORWAY" advert. It's friggin BEAUTIFUL! I want to go now!

But...and I'll try not to lean into spoilers, though there are not many....do two wrongs of this nature make a right? Especially if she took her first course of action and just killed him. I mean, sure - he's not around to hurt anyone else, but that's against the law as well. And the tack that Rebekka takes to fix things has an edge as well. Is it fair? Does Morten make valid points about Rebekka's role in what happened as well?

It's a really intense and thought provoking film that dials in the RIGHT OR WRONG nature of peoples actions expertly. Most people in the film do or say something that you can look at and say, "Well...wait a minute. Um...that sounds right and I totally get where you are coming from, but do you see how it's also really...REALLY wrong?" I love that in a film. The blurry lines between right and wrong.

Long and the short is that I LOVED this film. I think I'll go see it again when it comes to theaters - tomorrow, August 17th 2018 across the US - so I can see the visuals again on the big screen. So beautiful.



Film fans.  Acting fans. Story fans.   You need to check out REVENGE (Hevn) at once. It's a fantastic film that needs people to see it and enjoy it. It's earned it in my book.