Thoroughbreds (2018)

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. Both young actresses are in good form, they make the movie good. The title may come from the fact that one of the girls had horses in her upbringing, but it could as easily refer to the two girls and their status in life.British actress Olivia Cooke is Amanda, smart but often detached, she has a disorder which prevents her from having normal feelings, fear, remorse, empathy, etc. She reconnects with her old friend who was going to a private school, American actress Anya Taylor-Joy as Lily, when Amanda's mother hires Lily to tutor Amanda. Then Lily's problems start to surface, she is not what she appears, she has difficulty dealing with expectations placed on her, and seems to loathe her stepfather who likes to have everything under control.The other key character is played by Anton Yelchin, who suffered an untimely death in 2016, as small-time 27-yr-old drug dealer Tim. Amanda has an idea, why doesn't Lily just kill her stepdad? All of this sets up some funny but dark situations. I enjoyed the movie strictly as a different type of entertainment, my wife no so much so. I suppose it isn't for all tastes.

A bland, bleak & boring black comedy featuring characters without redeeming characteristics and moments without emotional stakes, Thoroughbreds is more a bummer than a stunner, for all that's good about it is the splendid camerawork & good performances from its talented cast.The story follows Lily & Amanda, two upper-class teenage girls who rekindle their friendship after years of growing apart, only for it to bring out one another's most destructive tendencies. The two ultimately decide to get rid of their problem and enlist the help of a drug dealer to help them out.Written & directed by Cory Finley in what's his directorial debut, Thoroughbreds begins on a promising note, for there's tension & chemistry in the first interaction between our leading ladies. Finley does well when it comes to staging the scene & moving the camera around but the drama is just flat & dreary.Camerawork is smooth, seamlessly sliding through the finely polished set pieces & sumptuous locations. The deadpan humour hits the spot, but only in bits n pieces. Editing fails to make the ride more riveting and while it allows the plot to simmer at its own pace, there are no rewards to reap in the end for taking that journey.Coming to the performances, Thoroughbreds packs a reliable cast in Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke & Anton Yelchin and all of them play their depthless characters well. The interplay between them is interesting at times but not good enough to leave a lasting impression. Still, Cooke's emotionless act does stand out from the rest.On an overall scale, Thoroughbreds is as sterile & shallow as it is stark & stylish. Offering its viewers nothing to latch on to, it is a tediously paced & monotonously executed teen thriller that leaves you cold & indifferent to all that unfolds on the screen for 92 minutes. A technically refined but narratively hollow debut for Cory Finley.

What an odd little movie.I was drawn to seeing this film as it was Anton Yelchin's last film.Teen angst through an interesting lens. What is a life worth? Could you kill someone?With an ending I'm not sure I saw coming, both actresses did a bang up job of keeping me on my toes.Creep level - Expert! Worth a view.

I was really impressed with this movie. It had great acting by Olivia Cooke & Anya Taylor-Joy. They are two of my favourite actress. I been a fan of Cooke since Bates motel season one. I been a fan of Taylor-Joy since I saw her amazing performance in the witch. She was definitely the best thing about the witch in my opinion. The cinematography was beautiful. It was dark and unnerving. Great directorial debut for Cory Finley. The black humour in the film was good. I'm glad I finally got around to watch it. It's in my top 10 best films of this year so far. I never got bored while watching it. All the characters was interesting. Anton Yelchin was really good in the movie. I wish he had more screen time. God rest his soul. The climax of the ending was quite dark. I would definitely recommend this film. Brilliant & well acted piece of cinema. 7/10