Review of A Simple Favor (2018) by Pipec — 25 Nov 2018

It's not Fincher, nor Hitchcock, it's Feig playing at both filmmaking maestros in his newest, twisted psychological chick noir. "A Simple Favor" is, in sum, a stylish, tolerably hyper-twisted psychological crime thriller that places Feig in a gracefully attractive laboratory of genres and tones. Truly great horror-comedy feature films are one of the most hard-to-find cinematographic feats these days; however, narratively and structurally, fusing seriously funny comedy in the narrative tidiness of a whodunit is even more meritorious to praise, a surgically handled work that only an expert on the mechanisms of these genres can achieve; here's a proof.

One of the strongest hooks for this domestic noir is the daring style on the divas' attire specifically. Undeniably, the sizzling fineries Lively models with panache during the first two acts and Kendrick, self-indulgent, inherits in the last act pop up on the screen as another à la mode main character. Each of these overwhelmingly fashioned moments comes from costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus, who freezes the viewer up persistently with her original tuxedo designs and their corresponding model. The fashion designer wonderfully personalizes not only the pair of ladies, but the film itself through creations that defy gender standards, which the film runs from several fronts. You are not ready for that navy three-piece suit and six-inch heels, bad weather and umbrella included.

Based on Darcey Bell's homonymous novel, the script is penned by Jessica Sharzer— 2016 summer surprise "Nerve" screenwriter —with additional Feig touches on it. Joining up the collection of film adaptations based on mystery books featuring women in morally ambiguous situations, with homicides, supposed suicides and dark places driving the plot forward, Sharzer does what she can to remain faithful to the source story, distilling the key points from Bell's novel. But in "Gone Girl," "The Girl On The Train" times, her writing falls short delivering solid resolutions, the pyrotechnics and suspicious events of the first hour are drowned by an out-of-control whirlwind of conclusions layering one after the other with less and less credibility. Emily Nelson is unhappy. We know it from the first moment because of her relationship with her only child, her creatively blocked husband, her job and her almost nonexistent social circle. Still, she's a confident, successful, classy, capable and ungovernable woman. But when her "perfection" is threatened by a forthcoming bankruptcy, her true self comes up. After the titular simple favor, she goes missing and the "why-where-how" kind of stuff unfolds. Blake Lively, despite not being a high-grossing star, is one of the film's faces towards financial success. Lively is in good hands portraying a sinister, enthralling femme fatale. Embodying Emily in an overwhelming natural way, her caustic, forceful performance achieves to blur the line between innocence and guilt, and that, in this film, means mission accomplished.

Kendrick gives a career-best performance. Lively's already proved herself years ago, Kendrick, even with her Academy nomination, has been involved mostly in humor-related flicks, keeping her distance from powerful, serious character-driven plots. Heroine and villain, Stephanie's the real star here. Widow, helicopter parent, detective and vlogger at once, her evolutionary arc is, besides more plausible than Emily's, wildly enjoyable, veering from mistress to stepmother, from bosom friend to enemy with explosive sympathy. Kendrick's great, so does Lively, but together, they're a bomb of secrets, surprises and seduction; one of the most unique, brilliant female duos in a long time.

"A Simple Favor" by Paul Feig could be mistaken for a vicious, riotous noir experiment by the director and producer behind "Bridesmaids," however, those who are willing to get a ticket for this fiery cocktail won't feel ripped off up until the third act. Feig gives a half-baked impression of a chic Hitchcock through missing girl genre-worthy storytelling ideas, with fortuitous and gratuitous twists that will delight those who chortled when they shouldn't minutes ago. The cast is unbeatable, its posture is stylish by means of eye-popping outfits, an exquisite and elegant French soundtrack, a production design that is colorfully synthetic and a deficient but focused cinematography. The story falls into an overhasty, depraved spiral of revelations halfway through that, in the end, is a ploy to deliver the best Kendrick's performance to date, showcase underestimated Lively's talents and Feig's skills to surprise in every way. Final oversaturation certainly makes the story an incohesive whole, but the new side of the director, its costume design and the electric chemistry between the stellar ladies are enough incentives to treat the final-act hangover.