There is something primordial about the characters in REVENGE. A throw back to misogynistic conventions of men and women where men possessed a beautiful woman and valued loyalty between friends and respect over everything else. Director Tony Scott is a perfect fit for this testosterone filled story. Quentin Tarantino calls it his masterpiece, which I find a strong word, even if it is the director's best work that I've seen. The film works for two reasons 1) the actors make us believe in the characters and 2) the screenplay has no pretension to be anything more than what it was meant to be.
Jay Cochran (Kevin Costner, DANCES WITH WOLVES) has just retired as a pilot from the Navy. Years before he helped save the life of Tibby Mendez (Anthony Quinn, GUNS OF NAVARONE) on a hunting trip and they have been friends for years. Cochran goes to visit the rich older man at his Mexican estate where he meets his friend's young, gorgeous wife, Miryea (Madeleine Stowe, BAD GIRLS). Cochran knows that his friend is wrapped up in shady dealings, but doesn't care. Part of why he doesn't care is that he is reckless and a hot head, which leads to an uncontrollable attraction to his dangerous friend's wife. The opening sequence only hints at the violence to come when Tibby finds out.
Much can be said about Scott's lingering camera over the body of Madeleine Stowe. Is it exploitative? That's a much bigger debate. But for this film, one can say that the steamy sex scenes are key to the narrative. If Jay and Miryea's passion were unconvincing, the entire story would fall apart under the absurdity of it all. Both lovers take irrational risks; there better be a good reason. Costner and Stowe have an undeniable chemistry that gives us good reason.
Now back to the exploitative nature of the story, which was based on Jim Harrison's pulp novel. How objectified is Miryea? Is she viewed as a possession? Yes she is. However, certain details flesh her character out enough that I believe the overall film does not view her as a possession. In the world of Tibby, she is his prize. It was an arranged marriage thanks to a business deal with Tibby and her father. Cochran is an escape from that world. I never felt like he believed that she was a toy he was stealing from his friend. That's a fundamental key to the story. Would their "love" have lasted, who knows, but their passion is real. All three of the main characters work off raw emotions. They act first then think. There is a moment where Miryea stabs someone that was really key to displaying her character as more than just a damsel in distress, waiting for rescue.
The lead performances are all great. Costner has grown as an actor over the years, but this is one of his best early performances. Stowe is beautiful and sexy and gives the character the right note of buried sadness. Her casting as a Mexican is sketchy as is her accent, but it's never too distracting. Quinn is magnificent. It's an amazing performance. We believe that he loves his wife, but acts like a cornered dog when hurt. Because we know that he loves his wife, we believe in better what happens during his final confrontation with Cochran. That scene could have been an awfully degrading scene, but the real emotions make it work.
The beginning is solid, the middle lags and the end balances on being too dramatic, but because the characters hook us from the start, we except where it takes us because we want to reach the end and see how the relationships ultimately play out. This material gloriously drips of pulp. It taps into our animalistic side. It works by bringing real human emotions to misogynistic clichés, which wouldn't have become clichés if they didn't come from something original at sometime in human existence.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
