The concept of bullying in schools has been repeatedly revisited in Asian cinema, as it seems to be one of the main issues concerning the SE societies in particular, occasionally resulting in masterpieces, as the ones we included in our corresponding list. However, dealing with the concept does not guarantee success, and unfortunately, this is the case with “Girl's Revenge”.
Yun-heng has just been transferred to a new school, after a series of events that are later revealed in the film, which also make her being reluctant about connecting to other classmates. As soon as she is in the classroom however, she is almost “assaulted” by the class rep, Ke-chien, who wants to become friends with her, essentially promoting her candidacy for Good Will Ambassador of the school. Of course, the way to do this is to push Yun-heng to be included in the class's group chat, although she, evidently, does not want anything to do with the whole endeavor. Li-chia, a girl who seems to be Ke-chien's archenemy, comes to her rescue repeatedly, taking on the class-rep head on, in a series of events that result in her becoming friends with the new girl, joined by another student, Ya-chi. As Ke-chien's advances continue, Li-chia also continues to protect Yun-heng, while the star of the basketball team of the school, who is also an old friend of the class rep, starts flirting with Yun-heng, as openly as possible. The tension continues, but a fateful party at the boy's house ends in chaos for all involved, and Yun-heng swearing revenge against Ke-chien.
The comments Weica Wang wants to make are rather obvious, and revolve around bullying, the impact of smart-phones and social media, and the concept of the rather harsh “school politics” where popular opinion about each student is king. And while these are quite interesting in contextual terms, they lack in presentation, mostly due to a single approach, as Wang also wants to show that, in this setting, no one is inherently good or bad. This approach is what faults the narrative for the most part, since all of the characters are presented as victims and perpetrators at the same time, despite the fact that Ke-chien has the role of the villain distinctly from the beginning. Furthermore, that the story somewhat seems to justify revenge in case it also involves self-sacrifice also is extreme and somewhat misplaced, considering the overall atmosphere of the movie.
The issues with the writing continue with the characters, as a number of them seem to serve just as props for the main trio to interact with, and the story to progress, with Ya-chi, the two boys (the captain and a wallflower nicknamed ‘Margin”) and Yun-heng's father suffering from this approach significantly. Furthermore, the story goes somewhat too far, particularly in the case of Ke-chien, whose character eventually emerges as someone almost completely unrealistic, while the way Yun-heng goes on with her revenge touches the borders of complete naivety. The same applies to Li-chia's attitude, both during and after the party.
What works for the film on the other hand, is the comment about the lack of parenting and the ways children suffer due to it, with the grown-ups in the story shining through their absence.
The cinematography is also quite good, with the images of the various settings being equally realistic and artful, even if with a dosage of excessiveness, as in the colors of the party, for example. Furthermore, the camera does not fail to present how beautiful the main protagonists are, through a number of shots that seem to aim exactly to that. The editing, which implements a fast pace through frequent cuts, also works well.
Wang Yu-ping as Yun-heng highlights her discomfort and resolve quite nicely, while Shiny Yao as Li-chia and Yuri Chen as Ke-chien are also quite good as enemies, with their chemistry working well for the story. However, their characters somewhat suffer from the writing, as mentioned before.
“Girl's Revenge” has some good intentions, and technically, is definitely above average, but the issues with the writing and the overall direction do not allow the film to raise above mediocrity.
