“It means I just have to try a little harder to be good.” That’s Amanda in an early line in Thoroughbreds plainly explaining her mental affliction to her old friend Lily. Amanda is without feeling and emotion, though she’s not quite a “sociopath.” She blankly stares into a mirror, tilts her head and flashes a smile. She can turn on a sunny demeanor in an instant, but there’s nothing behind that façade. And yet Lily is trying just as hard to be “good.” We’re all trying.
Cory Finley’s Thoroughbreds examines the effort we exert and the demeanors we put on to appear “normal.” It takes two teen girls, one who feels nothing and one who feels all too much, and examines what a friendship can do to these individuals.
Finley tells his character study via black sense of humor, opulent production design and stirring performances. Thoroughbreds feels like a modern indie take on “Heathers” in a way that makes it destined to become a cult hit. Continue reading “Thoroughbreds”