Aahana Swrup
‘The Wrath of Becky’ is an action thriller film directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, revolving around the bloodied and gory adventure of a teenager named Rebecca, a.k.a. Becky. Following her father’s gruesome murder, Becky moves around the foster system with little luck. After running away to strike out on her own alongside her loyal companion dog, Diego, Becky finds a stable home with a kind but gutsy old lady, Elena. However, one dreadful night, three men from the fascist organization “Noble Men” attack Becky at her house and kidnap her dog. Consequently, Becky embarks on a revenge-fueled rampage.
The film presents a dark and twisted storyline but approaches it through a comedic lens to create a satirical action-comedy. Given the film’s realistic portrayal of Becky with its socially relevant depiction of a neo-nazi, fascist group, viewers must be curious about the film’s relationship to reality. Therefore, here is everything you need to know about the origin of ‘The Wrath of Becky.’
The Wrath of Becky is Not a True Story But Reflects Modern Issues
‘The Wrath of Becky’ is not based on a true story. The film is a sequel to the 2020 action crime film ‘Becky’ directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion. Although the film picks up shortly after its predecessor’s events, ‘The Wrath of Becky’ also works as a standalone sequel to ensure its appeal to a broader audience.
Co-directors and writers Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, aware of the prevalence of bad sequels in pop culture, wanted to steer clear of committing similar mistakes. As such, during the scriptwriting process, the duo did their research by watching good and bad sequels that have come out over the years and took notes to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses.
Thanks to the compelling, well-crafted eponymous character established in ‘Becky’ by writers Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye, and Nick Morris, it was easy for Angel and Coote to imagine where Becky’s character would have ended up after the three-year time jump. Moreover, the filmmakers also wanted to bring thematic changes to the story to complement Becky’s development between the two films from a 13-year-old to a 16-year-old.
“We wanted to change the tone of this film and make it a little funnier and have more action,” said Coote while discussing the points of distinction for this new chapter in Becky’s life. “The film is satire, but we wanted the Noble Men to be our antagonists. But since they’re so awful and real right now, you also have to make the viewing experience enjoyable. So we had to infuse it with comedy.”
Expanding on the same Angel, Scoote’s partner in filmmaking and real life, said, “Um, look, we got modern-day neo-nazis amongst us and in the headlines every moment of every day. One of the producers, J.D. Lifshitz, said, what if we play with the idea of incels and the message boards? And it quickly became a much bigger world than just incels. They belong to bigger communities like Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. So it just felt very much like on a silver platter.”
Therefore, the “Noble Men” storyline explored within the narrative develops the film’s most significant parallel to real life. Although, like the rest of the film, the organization, and its members are fictitious, their base inspiration stems from ever-growing real-world issues. Nobel Men are a group of women-hating, racist fascists that come together to take action against the nation’s liberal politics. In the film, their primary goal is to cause to rally against the state’s female senator, Hernandez, and cause an insurrection.
For this aspect of the story, Angel and Coote took inspiration from real-life organizations like Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, two far-right militant groups. The similarity between the latter and Noble Men is particularly striking, especially in their names. As such, themes of neo-nazism, sexism, and violent far-right politics, inform a crucial connection between the film and real life. Nevertheless, the events and characters themselves are not based on reality.
Read More: Where Was The Wrath of Becky Filmed?
