The 566th film I have seen in theaters…

Revenge gets RIPPED!

1989. A drifter/Bodybuilder (Jackie) comes to town and begins a relationship with Lou, manager of the local gym. Falling in love, Jackie is drawn into the local intrigue of domestic abuse, gun running, performance enhancing drugs, murder, and secrets.

Kristen Stewart, like Robert Pattinson, has far outgrown her origins in Twilight. She’s an excellent actress and it shows here.

Katy O’Brian is on my radar now. I first noticed her in that OUTSTANDING episode of Mandalorian, yes I said outstanding. Again in Ant-Man 3, and now here. Besides her amazing physique, Jackie’s descent into drug fueled mania was perfectly performed by O’Brian. Like I said, she’s on my great performer radar.

Ed Harris is always great. Seriously, the dude hasn’t turned in a bad performance in anything I’ve seen. If I see his name on a movie I am assured of at least that. Here he plays Lou’s dad: Lou Sr, the bug eating criminal. Amazing menace.

Anna Baryshnikov is Daisy, local girl with a crush on Lou. A small role, but memorable. Noticing the last name, I was curious of her parentage. Her father is indeed Mikhail.

Jena Malone has a small role here as Lou’s sister. I always liked Malone. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her and she has a few great scenes here.

Dave Franco is JJ, the douche. A fantastic part actually. He’s in one of the more memorable scenes.

I liked this one. A24 movies usually hit well with me. Fantastic cinematography and editing. Good writing. Very effective performances. I am not entirely sure if I buy the ending though. It drifts off into a bit of magical fantasy which seemed a bit out of place, but it was set up several times earlier In the film. I only realized it upon reflection, a sign that the movie will have some re-watch value for me. This was a good film, good enough that I will check out Rose Glass’ first film, Saint Maude, at my earliest opportunity.

7/10