Starring: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Kaili Vernoff, Paul Sparks
Director: Cory Finley
Release date: 6th April 2018
Amanda (Olivia Cooke) and Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) are estranged school friends, who for varying reasons have drifted apart. Amanda has gone to Lily for help with her studies. Lily is a privileged rich kid who lives with her mum and step-dad, and Amanda is a girl with a dark past who has no feelings of emotion. The pair begin to spend a lot of time together and soon it becomes apparent that Lily’s step-dad, Mark is snobbish and over-bearing and would like nothing more than for Lily to be sent to a boarding school for troubled teens. As Lily and Amanda’s bond gets stronger, the pair soon begin to conspire a murder… but how will they do it? Who will do it? What repercussions will there be?
A very dark comedy/drama, it’s quite psychological in places. Both girls seem to be slightly/ more than a little damaged and troubled, but with Lily initially appearing the lesser of the two. The narrative is told in the form of chapters and the pair appears to spiral more and more out of control as the story progresses. The music used is also really great and adds a lot to the dark mood of the film. It’s Cory Finley’s first crack at directing as well and I definitely think it’s a great movie for him to have as the first on his directorial CV.
I did enjoy ‘Thoroughbreds’, but felt it went on a bit too long, even though it’s only an hour and a half on the runtime. The premise of the story is great but I guess I just didn’t feel the chemistry was right between the two girls. Maybe I wasn’t looking at it from the right angle or something. A few other people I’ve spoken to about it have said it’s an amazing piece of cinematography. Each to their own I guess, but that’s the thing about movies like this… they give us something to talk about and compare viewpoints. Everyone will take away something different from this one.
If you like your movies dark and also like stories that leave you guessing, then definitely give ‘Thoroughbreds’ a watch.
Overall: 7.5/10
