Movie Review: Thoroughbreds
Often, films tend to look at life in a positive light, treating it as being filled with joy and happiness. Then, there are films like the new thriller Thoroughbreds. The film is a dark look at life that is straight out of left field.
Written by director Corey Finley (making his debut here), Thoroughbreds follows old friends Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke), who reconnect in an upscale Connecticut neighborhood and hatch a plan to kill Lily’s stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks). Along the way, we’re introduced to Tim (Anton Yelchin) who might be in on the plan since he’ll apparently be blackmailed if he isn’t.
Thoroughbreds begins with the leads and they make this film. Lily is an odd girl with a troubled past who seems strangely unconflicted with the act of murder; she is a character who displays no emotion other than the pleasure she feels when experiencing pain. Lily is a somewhat likable character that’s fun to be around, in a macabre sort of way, and Taylor-Joy plays the part as well as can be expected for such a twisted character. Her counterpart, Amanda, is the typical rich, preppy girl; but there is more to her than just those superficial qualities. She somehow proves likable as you watch her grow into the troubled character of the film’s heavy third act. As for Sparks’ portrayal of the stepfather, he plays it in quite convincing fashion, even with limited screen time and dialogue. In his final film role, Yelchin again appears as a troubled young adult with his own dark past, who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ultimately, Thoroughbreds proves to be an odd character study, that’s also a dark and edgy, yet somehow fun, ride.
Alexander Wolff
