Thoroughbreds – Film Review

Character studies are always great ways for an actor to showcase their range and ability to have the focus of the picture without being vain. This film highlights the wonderfully talented duo of Olivia Cooke and Ana Taylor-Joy, in this dark comedy indie. The story is about the relationship between this two girls who are trying to rekindle their friendship after Amanda (Cooke) develops a more dark and psychopathic tendencies after her attempt to euthanize a crippled horse turns into a charge for animal cruelty.

Lily (Taylor-Joy) tutors Amanda to help improve her mental stability and her education. They begin to try to become friends and the amount of chemistry between the two shows with how they are able to switch emotions so effortlessly. There is a lot of subtly in the writing of the film where it showcases the complexity of feminism and the place of a women, and what you expect from someone. There are a lot of great twists with the film I didn’t see coming.

I don’t have any feelings, ever. And that doesn’t necessarily make me a bad person, it just means I have to work a little harder to be good.

While Olivia Cooke is great in this film and has some great moments towards the end of the picture with such a power character decision it’s Ana Taylor-Joy who really steps up to the plate. She morphs Lily into such a complex a terrifyingly strong character. Her innocence in her performance really helps layer the subtly in how rich and interesting Lily is as a person and her struggle to deal with her step father being such a threat to her mother and herself.

My only negatives with the film were in that it did feel small and not as big as it could have been for a story. With most of the screen time revolving around Cooke and Joy, I would have liked to see more of their life so the world that was being created felt more lived in than small. Lastly it is tragic that this is the final on screen performance of the great Anton Yelchin. He has a great small role in this and plays off Cooke and Taylor-Joy well in his scenes.

8.5/10