Review of Thoroughbreds (2018) by Malcolm T — 21 Aug 2018

As a first feature this is a solid achievement on the part of writer/director Cory Finley. However, as an audience member I was ultimately disappointed by the third act. I loved the characters and the actors.

I loved the relationship between the two leads, Olivia Cooke as Amanda and Anya Taylor-Joy as Lily. Their performances are phenomenal, especially what Ms. Cooke achieves through a deadpan stoicism is exceptional.

The disappointment that lingers for me is that at the start of the film neither of the teen girls experience love in their life and by the end they find themselves even further from ever achieving it.

The tragedy of it is they are discovering a love between each other but unfortunately the story does not allow them to realize this love and experience its healing power. If they had given into their budding affection for one another they may have come to a learn murder and vengeance, especially against a step-dad who really does not deserve it, is an option that would only further damage their souls.

At the end for Lily to then cast off her friend who sacrificed a life of freedom to suffer years of incarceration and permanent psychiatric treatment, is far too callous. It's also hard to swallow given Lily is the character who has been set up as the one who feels everything.

She should thereby be catatonic with grief and loss. Not newly minted as a sociopath herself. It would be more poignant if she confessed her crime in order to free her friend and thereby redeem her own soul.

Instead, Lily gets away with her heinous crimes and suffers no consequences. It just doesn't ring true. The film is beautifully shot with with solid cinematic storytelling, stunning characters, great performances and some great scenes, but unfortunately a missed opportunity by not developing the third act more thoroughly.

Events unfold pretty much as expected, with the hero making a reverse journey from an empath to a sociopath. Overall, a solid freshman effort that needed more story development.