Thoroughbreds

Thoroughbreds is a reminder that wealth is just a veneer over over our animalistic humanity. No matter how big the house, how luxurious the spa weekend, or how impressive the credentials, we all experience petty hatred and anger, we lie and we manipulate, and we want to protect what's ours - the cost to others be damned.

The movie is a character study of two rich kids - one who has no care for that veneer and one is highly dependent on it. The plot is driven by a "murder on my mind" scenario, but that's just to serve the psychological thriller format. The more interesting lens through which to view this movie, for me, was to examine the effect that these two unlikely friends had on each other.

Oh, and it's a pleasure to watch if you like careful, measured cinematography and pointed dialogue. It's a slow burn, but a worthy one.

I must admit I came to watch the movie because I had seen Olivia Cooke in Amazon/ ITV's production of Wm Thackeray's Vanity Fair and I must say she is quite the young actress I am sure we will be hearing more about her and from her however... This movie starts out with some good dialogue with both humor and , yes, existential philosophy but by the time you reach the end of the movie it has fallen apart completely, it no longer satisfies the way the first half did. Watch the first half , skip the ending, not worth your time.

I wanted to like this film. But overall it is fairly poor. The only standout is return to "shining" type cam shots and visuals. These were interesting as novelty when introduced 40 years ago, but were dropped from good filmmaking for good reason.

Ultimately this will appeal to filmgoers who like to be manipulated by technique instead of told a story. Even the deus ex machine ending is such a cop out that everyone left the screening shaking their heads.

I'm not sure this movie classifies as a comedy film. It's a light movie, but it's more serious than funny if you ask me. I really love this indie movie, and I watched it because of Anya Taylor-Joy. She did phenomenal and so did Olivia Cooke.

More indie films like this! (:

I decided to check this film out because the premise sounded very interesting but it was told in a way I didn't expect.

Thoroughbreds follow two teenage girls, Amanda and Lily, who both scheme to kill Lily's stepfather.

This is a very strange film. Cory Finley has a background in plays and it clearly shows in Thoroughbreds. There are a lot of scenes where characters just talk in one location but what makes it fun to watch is the dialogue and performances. The humour may not appeal to everybody but I found a lot of the lines to be pretty funny. It reminded me of American Psycho a lot. The humour is very dark and subtle and if you're on board with that then you may like this film. Alongside that, Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are pretty fantastic in this film. They have great chemistry with one another and suit their roles really well. Unfortunately this is Anton Yelchin's final performance but he shines during the scenes he's present in.

The cinematography and production design was really good. The score is what really stood out to me. It's filled with all sorts of strange sounds that fit well with the overall style of the film. The ending does feel underwhelming and it could be due to budget constraints or Finley's background in plays.

For the most part I enjoyed the deadpan humour and I thought Finley's approach to this kind of film was quite refreshing but I feel the story and the stakes could have been elevated more to make it even more entertaining.