There are few things I love more that someone's debut film being a hit, and with Thoroughbreds Cory Finley has achieved just that. His debut is a cleverly written and quite witty script brought to life with fantastic direction. Thoroughbreds follows the rekindling friendship between Amanda and Lily. While at first they seem off base from one another, they grow closer over a strange set of circumstances.
I will be shocked if this film's leads fail to become big stars. Olivia Cooke, who plays Amanda, has already carved out a name for herself through shows like Bates Motel and films such as Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl and the upcoming Ready Player One. Her character in this film is unable to feel things, leading to a very matter of fact delivery of lines that works perfectly. Her performance at times is slow and tense and other times lightning fast and witty, which perfectly resembles the style of the film. She stars opposite another rising star Anya Taylor-Joy, who has made a name for herself in the horror/thriller genre through films such as Split and The Witch. She provides a great contrast to Cooke's performance, balancing the film really well. Anton Yelchin unfortunately passed away in 2016, just a few weeks after this movie finished being filmed. He isn't in a ton of the movie but delivers a very good performance and seeing him on screen again is great. Other than those three there aren't many people with much screen time, but the performances by Taylor-Joy and Cooke more than carry the film.
As far as debuts go this is one of the best I've seen recently. Finley has written one of the most clever films I've seen in a while, with darkly hilarious dialogue that comes lightning fast at times. He also does a great job at building tension with long uninterrupted scenes with little sound. This film's cinematography is excellent. The framing is pretty unique in some scenes, and fits the film really well, and there are some long tracking shots that I loved, as well as some long takes with subtle camera movement. The use of sound is also really great. The score is really cool and pretty much always effective, and the sound design is great. There is a long take late in the film that mostly features off screen sound, allowing the audience to infer what is happening off screen, and I found that to be one of the most powerful moments of the film. There are many areas where the audience is left to infer events instead of seeing them and it works quite well. The set and costume design are also really effective, helping to build the world Finley has created.
In case you couldn't tell I really loved this film. It is dark, hilarious, and exceptionally made and will hopefully put its actors and very talented director on the map. I more than suggest people see this film.
Rating: 4.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
I will be shocked if this film's leads fail to become big stars. Olivia Cooke, who plays Amanda, has already carved out a name for herself through shows like Bates Motel and films such as Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl and the upcoming Ready Player One. Her character in this film is unable to feel things, leading to a very matter of fact delivery of lines that works perfectly. Her performance at times is slow and tense and other times lightning fast and witty, which perfectly resembles the style of the film. She stars opposite another rising star Anya Taylor-Joy, who has made a name for herself in the horror/thriller genre through films such as Split and The Witch. She provides a great contrast to Cooke's performance, balancing the film really well. Anton Yelchin unfortunately passed away in 2016, just a few weeks after this movie finished being filmed. He isn't in a ton of the movie but delivers a very good performance and seeing him on screen again is great. Other than those three there aren't many people with much screen time, but the performances by Taylor-Joy and Cooke more than carry the film.
As far as debuts go this is one of the best I've seen recently. Finley has written one of the most clever films I've seen in a while, with darkly hilarious dialogue that comes lightning fast at times. He also does a great job at building tension with long uninterrupted scenes with little sound. This film's cinematography is excellent. The framing is pretty unique in some scenes, and fits the film really well, and there are some long tracking shots that I loved, as well as some long takes with subtle camera movement. The use of sound is also really great. The score is really cool and pretty much always effective, and the sound design is great. There is a long take late in the film that mostly features off screen sound, allowing the audience to infer what is happening off screen, and I found that to be one of the most powerful moments of the film. There are many areas where the audience is left to infer events instead of seeing them and it works quite well. The set and costume design are also really effective, helping to build the world Finley has created.
In case you couldn't tell I really loved this film. It is dark, hilarious, and exceptionally made and will hopefully put its actors and very talented director on the map. I more than suggest people see this film.
Rating: 4.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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