Review of Thoroughbreds (2018) by Adam M — 06 Sep 2018
Thoroughbreds is a little lopsided, the first act is much more of a comedy than the rest of the film, and I do wish they had maintained that tone through more of the movie. But it's really solid other than that.
The beginning scene of Olivia Cooke walking through Anya Taylor-Joy's home sets a perfect precedent for the character as well as the rest of the film, highlighted by a chilling but minimal score. The dynamic between the two leads is fascinating, watching each of them try to figure each other out, where they excel as people, and where their respective sociopathic tendencies start to rear up.
The film never takes the easy route either, part of the premise is that Taylor-Joy's character wants to kill her step-father. They never completely demonize his character. He's an asshole, for sure, but but she's no peach either.
He definitely doesn't deserve to die. It could have been so easy to show him abusing his wife, but they never take that out. It makes the audience feel uneasy. We like the protagonists, but maybe we shouldn't.
The best part of the film is the climactic scene, a slow pan in with some expertly crafted sound mixing that had me on the edge of my seat. Really stellar stuff.
This review of Thoroughbreds (2018) was written by Adam M on 06 Sep 2018.
Thoroughbreds has generally received positive reviews.
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