2017 Directed by Cory Finley
Two teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. In the process, they learn that neither is what she seems to be, and that a murder might solve both of their problems.
gotta say this live action adaptation of the barbie horse adventures video games got seriously intense
AFI 2017: film #3
would you believe me if i told you that this was the funniest fucking movie i’ve seen all year? i’m in awe. definitely the most sickeningly fun time i’ve had in a theater in such a while. and honestly? it has the potential to be a cult classic. i absolutely adored this. heathers would be proud
If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that not giving a shit about other human beings is the best way to get ahead in life. Empathy is a weakness. It’s a virtue, of course — and hopefully part of our natural condition — but it’s also a weakness. Empathy is one of the few things that money can’t buy, and the only thing that the rich can’t afford. “Thoroughbred,” Cory Finley’s delightfully vicious and mind-bogglingly confident first feature, is a pitch-black comedy about the danger of being around people of privilege when they first start to figure that out.
I loved the dark tone of this. It pushed right up against my comfort level. I felt a little despondent and suspicious the next day, but all that's faded and I feel ok now. Three great young actors here - enjoyed them all immensely. Loved the camera work.
I thought the score was awful. Very unsettling and effective, but just so weird and distracting for me. Personal preference. One sound effect I loved, was the ominous "Ergometer" upstairs, which we never see. It just about drove me crazy too.
Wasn't in love with the direction but the story keeps you guessing as to where it's ultimately going. Worth checking out.
Sociopath cosplay: Zzz. The most interesting tension here is the class dynamic, but the movie drops the ball there, too; Anton Yelchin lends his drug dealing wannabe an admirable sense of pathos, but that pathos is in itself a condescending choice, overblown to land a solid but superficial idea about money as power. If the movie were good, it wouldn't have to needle us to feel bad.
I admire Anya Taylor Joy’s mannerisms and artifice, and I admire the sense that, for both women, it’s all performative; there’s a moral rigor in there somewhere, for each woman, spelled out by their various hesitations to get this scheme going, but they each abandon it. The disappointing thing is that Finley is…
Aesthetically pleasing, caustic slice of nihilism so sharply written and dryly funny. Extremely promising debut.
“Hey, do you want me to kill that guy for you? Because it sounds like he sucks and I will totally kill that guy for you.”
-John mulaney
the subtle ways she tries to mimic human emotion throughout the film: the smiles to herself in the mirror, the hug. really well done.
A bland, bleak & boring black comedy featuring characters without redeemable traits and moments without emotional stakes, Thoroughbreds is more a bummer than a stunner, for all that's good about it is the splendid camerawork & good performances from its talented cast.
The story follows Lily & Amanda, two upper-class teenage girls who rekindle their friendship after years of growing apart, only for it to bring out each other's most destructive tendencies. The two ultimately decide to get rid of their problem and enlist the help of a drug dealer to help them out.
Written & directed by Cory Finley in what's his directorial debut, Thoroughbreds begins on a promising note, for there's tension & chemistry in the first interaction between our leading ladies. Finley…
”What am I going to tell my dad?”
Two rich, white teenage girls trapped in the moneyed suburbs of Connecticut, live in a distant, overly safe ecosystem that estranges them from the real world and, as a corollary, alienates them from everybody, including themselves. This overwhelming numbness, which is perfectly represented in Amanda (Olivia Cooke), who proclaims that she does not possess the ability to have feelings and who has recently beheaded her horse, drives the two teens into obscenity as Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) considers killing her step-father because he is a tad too harsh. Cory Finley uses the emotionless motif as a comedic tool, often employing morbid punch-lines with a deadpan delivery. This jocose device is at times brutally…
Beautiful direction (amazing really, considering this is a debut) mixed with a fun psychological thriller plot. Both Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke shine throughout, and while I think the narrative could be tighter between the middle act and the ending, I do really love the thematic conclusion that the movie reaches.
(Unfortunately, it does not have as much Anton Yelchin as I was promised in the trailer :/)
JakeBaker 76 films
Non-A24 films that would fit perfectly into A24’s filmography.
MasterLundegaard 163 films
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