Review of Thoroughbreds (2018) by Tylerkellr — 12 Mar 2018

Thoroughbreds is a fascinating movie in a number of ways. The cinematography is slow, patient, and at all times purposeful. Never is a shot wasted in this movie. The soundtrack is likewise intent on imbuing the viewer with a certain uneasiness throughout.

But the real star here (and no surprise coming from an adapted play) is the character study and superb scripting from Cory Finley. At times approaching Juno (2007) levels of quirkiness, the writing also never fails to also feel grounded and real for the two central characters.

The entire story is very much the investigation of the relationship between Lily and Amanda, and the way in which their characters grow closer as they toy with the life-changing act of murder. "It doesn't make me a bad person, it just means I have to try a little harder to be good" says the sociopathic Amanda, and in every scene of the movie, this is her driving philosophy.

She feels nothing - no guilt, no pain, and, tragically, no joy - and yet she constantly endeavors to do what she sees as right. She confesses to faking her tears after the death of Lily's father, but it wasn't done out of any malice or in any attempt to manipulate her.

She did so simply to comfort Lily in her sorrow, even if she had none of her own. The final line of the movie is a gut-punch, and I'll admit to at first feeling cheated by what felt like a flippant, unfair conclusion.

But the real (or perhaps just my understood) meaning hit me on the drive home. I realized that the ending, much like Annihilation (another fantastic film I would recommend), and likely much like Hereditary later this year will be, deals with an inheritance of character, or traits.

Lily has effectively grown into Amanda - not actively evil, and perhaps not even actively good like Amanda. It's a film that begs discussion - over Lily's abandonment of Amanda, over Amanda's sacrifice for Lily.

None of the events in the movie are fully black and white, and I think it's the realness and honesty that director Cory Finley maintains even through the ambiguity and uncertainty that really elevates this to something great.