In this essay, I will analyse and discuss the theme Revenge and Consequences portrayed in the films Tomorrow, when the war began, Bride wars, Troy and Man on Fire. Revenge is when a harmful action is made against a person and Consequence is a result or outcome made from that one action. This essay will analyse how the characters in these texts are affected by “Revenge and Consequences” but to differing extents. Overall this essay will explain not all consequences to revenge are happy endings, they are all destructive.
The film, Tomorrow, when the war began, (2010, Stuart Beattie), portrays the theme, ‘Revenge and Consequences. ’ This theme was shown through the character, Ellie Linton, one of eight teenagers taking risks in a guerrilla war, for the sake of a personal vendetta (against the hostiles who invaded because they took away what they took for granted, for example, freedom) risking the consequence of losing her closest friends. At the beginning of the novel we learn about Ellie’s life as a country girl who is a ‘tomboy’.
Ellie was brought up on the farm and had no worries doing practical farm things like: driving the landrover, tractor, working with stock and mending fences. Ellie however, is unsophisticated and not that in touch with her feelings. She has never faced a war situation where she has had to hide, dodge bullets and murder to keep herself and her friends alive. Ellie and her friends soon discover their family are gone and decide they want revenge, also putting others in danger. Decisions are made and questions are asked. Homer asked Ellie, “What do your instincts tell you? Ellie replied, “That it’s time to go to war” This quote tells me that Ellie has opted for revenge without knowing the consequence. The theme ‘Revenge and Consequences’ was an important theme because it was a dominant theme in the film. We see it in action through the character Ellie who decided to fight for what she loved. For this example, we can see that the theme of ‘Revenge and Consequence’ was important to Stuart Beattie’s development of the character Ellie in his film Tomorrow, when the war began. However, the film, ‘Bride wars’, (2009, Gary Winick), also identifies the theme, ‘Revenge and Consequences. Gary Winick has shown this theme through the lifelong friendship of Emma and Liv – women in their mid-20s who, as young girls, made plans for almost identical weddings.
When they hire the same wedding planner who schedules them both on the same time, day, and venue, the conflict begins and the ‘Revenge ‘ takes place. Revenge was first seen in the film when the two best friends started sabotaging each other. Examples of revenge are when Emma tampers with Liv’s hair dye to make it turn blue. Liv reacts to the hair dresser, “My hair’s blue! It’s BLUE! To get back at Emma, Liv decides to have a little fun making Emma’s tan turn bright orange. These examples of revenge, lead to the one consequence of losing what they both had with each other, friendship. Gary Winick wants us to know that revenge is not an easy situation when it involves the consequence of losing the ones you love, which helps develop the personality of the characters, linking back to the film, Tomorrow, when the war began, where Stuart Beattie used the theme ‘Revenge and Consequences’ for the development of the character Ellie.
