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THOROUGHBREDS

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THOROUGHBREDS
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(Teenage film noir)

“Thoroughbreds” reminded me of a good old-fashioned, B-movie film noir. The big difference is that the perpetrators are teenage girls with psychological problems.
Amanda (Olivia Cooke) is a troubled young lady who exhibits no feelings, therefore “making it hard to be good.”
Like the young boy in EQUUS, she has killed a horse. As a result, everybody avoids her, with the exception of her former school friend, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy). Amanda’s mother is paying Lily to tutor her and to be her friend. Their relationship is strained, as they both, on the surface, seem very different. Opposites soon attract, as Lily looks to Amanda for advice, then help, in dealing with her abusive stepfather. The eerie relationship grows closer as the two plot to kill him. To tell you more would spoil the shocking, clever ending, and postscript, to this eerie tale.
Cooke and Taylor-Joy give great performances, raising the movie from a teenage tale to a dark, psychological, suspenseful murder story.
Rated R, with violence, profanity, and some sexual references.

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