Review of Thoroughbreds (2018) by Riff J — 13 Nov 2018

A film which starts out with a lot of promise but then simply slow burns its way towards a flat ending, Thoroughbreds features 2 talented actresses, and the late Anton Yelchin, taking part in a revenge killing storyline that, even at only an hour and 30 minutes, still feels flabby and overextended.

I liked the steady pace to begin with, and the foreboding and unspecific atmosphere, but soon enough the Director becomes obsessed with the unnecessarily long slow plan shots and uses them at every opportunity.

As a result, the film takes a long time to say very little, and we're left with scenes of our 2 heroines exchanging mildly illuminating but ultimately fruitless banter. The concept of killing an unwanted family member has ben done before, but here the film doesn't give sufficient reason for this motivation.

Instead of spending all of our time with the leads, it would have been much better to show the relationship between the daughter and step-father, showing how her hatred for him has festered to the point that she wants him dead.

But aside from being played as a 2-dimensional jerk, there's really nothing that would merit actual murder. He's the kind of person you claim you'll kill because he's annoying, but would never actually go through with.

As a result, the central storyline feels forced and unrewarding. It might have made an entertaining short film, but at feature length it's stretched way too thin, has a needless chapter system and leaves no real impact.

I admire the talent, the concept and the attempted execution, no pun intended, but it just didn't make for a rewarding experience. R.I.P Anton.