Vengeance: A Love Story (2017)

A group of strangers come to the aid of a single mother seeking to bring her rapists to justice.

Director:

Johnny Martin

Writers:

John Mankiewicz (screenplay by), Joyce Carol Oates (based upon the Novel " Rape: A Love Story" by)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Anna Hutchison, Talitha Eliana Bateman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	John
Anna Hutchison	...	Teena
Talitha Eliana Bateman	...	Bethie (as Talitha Bateman)
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Agnes
Don Johnson	...	Jay Kirkpatrick
Joshua Mikel	...	Marvin
Rocco Nugent	...	Lloyd
Joe Ochterbeck	...	Jimmy
Carter Burch	...	Fritz
Charlene Tilton	...	Irma
Dikran Tulaine	...	Walt
Kara Flowers	...	Dixon
Jimmy Gonzales	...	Det. Zwaff
Cory Scott Allen	...	Ray
Mike Pniewski	...	Judge Schpiro

Storyline

Walking home with her 12-year-old daughter after midnight on the Fourth of July, Teena crosses paths with some local losers to be brutally gang raped with her daughter Bethie watching. Bethie is able to identify the rapists, but when the rapists hire a hot shot attorney who attacks Teena's character, Dromoor, a local police officer who was first on the scene when police were called, starts to take matters into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | vigilante | rogue cop | rape victim | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

Beyond good and evil is Justice.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the film was rated R in the United States and was rated R18 in New Zealand for it's violence, profanity and brutal rape sequence. The film was given the 15 certificate in the United Kingdom.

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Goofs

The shots of the outside of the courthouse are from an Atlanta courthouse (approx. 1hr 13 min in), not a NY state courthouse where the trial would have been (the monument is easily identifiable as the one in DeKalb county).

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: Mandy and The Predator (2018)

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Soundtracks

Draw the Line
Written and Performed by Kelly Pardekooper
Courtesy of Black Toast Music

User Reviews

Formulaic Revenge Story, With One Good Performance

There is not much of anything original or unpredictable going on with this movie. It is pretty much your standard revenge flick, where the bad guys get off in court, and they are dealt with via vigilante justice.

There is one bright spot in the film, though. That is the performance of Talitha Bateman as the daughter. She acts in a relaxed, natural manner that is totally believable. In fact, she shows more acting ability than some of the other characters in the movie. But to be fair, there are a number of caricature roles in the movie that aren't very demanding of the actors (for example, the bad guys and their mother).

Bateman is young, so I hope she can find some better scripts than this in the future, and continues to grow as an actress. At this point, she reminds me of how Saoirse Ronan was at the same age. Ronan developed into a very good actress. I hope Bateman can do the same.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vengeance: A Love Story

Filming Locations:

American Falls, Niagara Falls, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,526, 17 September 2017

Gross USA:

$4,526

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$73,270

Company Credits

Production Co:

Patriot Pictures, Hannibal Classics, Justice Everywhere Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1