Thoroughbreds

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.

Some films you know within moments of them beginning that they are going to be something special. 'Thoroughbreds' was very much one of those films for me. The opening shot containing the character of 'Amanda' looking around a home - something so simply and yet done in such a way that you can't take your eyes off the screen - told me everything I needed to know about the film I was about to watch. And I was right. The next 90 minutes were some of the best cinema of 2017.

The movie is a lot darker than I expected it to be. There is a comedy genre tag attached to the film but it really is in no way a comedy. I think I maybe lightly chuckled twice throughout the film, and both of those chuckles were at some quite dark jokes. The acting in the film is amazing. The two lead girls Olivia Cook and Anya Taylor-Joy were in outstanding form and played a huge part in making the film as brilliant as it was.

The fact that this is a debut film written and directed by Cory Finley is quite incredible. The class with which he made this was well beyond his experience. The music in the film is haunting and absolutely perfectly selected. The dialogue is captivating to listen to. Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino could easily have written this film it's that good. In particular the final line of the movie will stick with me for a long time to come. I absolutely loved 'Thoroughbreds' and I couldn't recommend it strongly enough.

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! (:

Apparently it was very upsetting to a lot of reviewers here that they found this in the comedy section of their local Red Box or whatever, saw two peppy looking teen girls on the cover, and had severe overreactions when they discovered that this movie "misled". It seems so strange to me that people continue to blind-watch movies and then get mad at the movie for not being what they convinced themselves the movie was about. You would have spent just as long watching a trailer or reading a one paragraph synopsis or review as you did coming back here to leave an awful review trashing a movie for your own mistake, but then I guess you'd have to admit that the problem was on your end.

Look, this is NOT a comedy. There are a few dry laughs here and there, but this is absolutely not a movie you want to watch for the laughs. This is a drama and it's one that deals with some pretty dark subjects. Unfortunately, it's hard to talk about what the point of this movie is without giving everything away. Let's just say it's the story of a friendship that forms between two very disturbed young women which takes a look at the darker side of human nature along the way. It's surprising, disturbing, and also surprisingly touching at times.

If you're not a complete fool that's looking for teen comedy in all the wrong places, give this a try, you might find yourself very surprised. I'd give it an 8 or a 9, but I'm going to go ahead and give it a 10 just to balance out all the triggered whiners giving it 1's for no good reason.

SPOILER: Thoroughbreds was quite a bit to process for me. On the surface, it's a story about young would-be murderers who are plotting to kill a stepfather in a WASPy Connecticut setting. Symbolically, it's a story about free will and letting go of all inhibitions. Amanda teaches Lily that committing a murder is all about getting away from yourself and focusing on the goal. Throughout the film, they relate it to how Steve Jobs dropped out of college and founded his own computer company. Strange and satirical, for sure. Cooke and Joy are a fabulous duo.

The pacing of the film is even more off-putting. Also, despite being advertised as a comedy, Thoroughbreds is so matter of fact and grim, I couldn't decipher what was supposed to be funny from what was supposed to be dead serious. That was entirely the point, but I found myself scratching my head more than enjoying the nuance.