New Release Birb: Thoroughbreds

Thoroughbreds
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke
Written and Directed by Cory Finley
US Release Date: March 9th, 2018
My First Viewing: March 7th, 2018

Making his feature-length debut, writer/director Corey Finley poses the question "what lengths would to in order to get rid of something that you hate." In the case of Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy, Split) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke, Me, Earl & the Dying Girl), that problem they want to get rid of is Lily's stepfather.

Reuniting after a falling out that involved Amanda killing her horse, upper-class polar opposites Lily and Amanda serve as foils and sounding boards, trying to get a sense of emotion and understanding out of each other. For Amanda, she has an emotionless streak that she chalks up to as some sort of mental disorder du jour, and for Lily, it is being able to emote and show and vocalize her frustration toward her stepfather (Paul Sparks, House of Cards). As the movie progresses, they end up taking on each other's traits while also serving as a mutual balance.

The story is broken up into four "chapters", and the best parts of the film are any scene where Cooke and Taylor-Joy are able to have a quick-fire back-and-forth at one another. This is a black comedy/thriller hybrid that you don't really know where things are going to lead, and the humor comes in bursts. The ending is kind of out of left field teetering on the line of plausibility, but it's something I can understand and that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the overall film. This also, sadly, was Anton Yelchin's last film, unexpectedly and tragically passing away after this film was done with shooting. Yelchin plays Tim, a drug dealer who, much like Lily and Amanda, is trying to find his place in the world. Hopefully, this movie can get some eyes on it so more interesting arthouse films like Thoroughbreds can continue to be released.

Thoroughbreds is rated R for bloody images, languages, and sexual behavior. What are your thoughts? Follow me at twitter.com/moviebirb or facebook.com/moviebirb and leave your comments.

-birb

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