A Level Film Enrolment Task

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Thoroughbreds 

Released April 6th 2018
Directed by Cory Finley
Comedy, Drama, Crime


Thoroughbreds, Cory Finley's directorial debut which follows an unlikely re-connection of old friends Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke) after going separate ways in life now rejoin to plan and execute a sinister plot that could change there lives forever for better or worse. A modern "American Psycho" (2000) staring upper-class high schoolers.

I have picked this film as the favourite of my summer as Cory Finley uses sound and cinematography to create an original tension and suspense-filled plot that has you intrigued and mortified every scene.

The camera work mostly using Steadicam much like one of the great horror movies of all time "The Shining" (1980) allows smooth and personal shots as we watch the characters isolated and vulnerable as they move, further expanding upon the character Amanda as we see her emotional distance in these shots throughout this film as well as Lily's fear and vulnerability as she feels threatened by her stepfather Mark (Paul Sparks). Lily's vulnerability is clearly influenced by "The Shining" as Danny (Danny Lloyd) is tracked in a similar way while riding around the house on his toy bike making him seem stalked and under constant threat from the camera itself, in one of cinema most iconic scenes in horror. Making this film in my personal opinion one of the few films who has captured the late Stanley Kubrick's eye for suspense and with it his talent for filmmaking.


 The sound in this film finds a place in our nightmares with its soundtrack from such Artists as "A Tribe Called Red" with heart racing tracks like "Sila" with heavy and robotic beats with tribal vocals imitating battle music linking to Lily and Amanda's battle against Mark. Similar to "Get Out" (2017) the movie also uses a slow build up of music to give a sense of increasing danger and fear whenever Mark approaches the protagonists similar to when Walter (Marcus Henderson) runs towards Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) when he goes for a cigarette at night in "Get Out". The films use of sound, in my opinion, engages the audience in every scene and like any good film makes us see/feel with our ears.


M.E.S (Mise-en-scène) is used in this film to show the relationship of the characters which is a common troupe M.E.S falls into for example Lily at the beginning of the film is reserved and distant from Amanda shown by her costume as she wears formal clothing wears dresses and has her hair in a ponytail showing there relationship as a partnership more than a friendship but as the film goes on and Lily's emotional state towards Amanda changes, she starts letting her formal demeanour down as her hair is literally let down and she wears more casual clothing like T-shirts and Hoodies/Jackets. However, this use of M.E.S is nothing special is nothing special as I've previously said its a common troupe to use M.E.S to show character relationships examples include:
  • "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" (2004) which uses Clemintine's (Kate Winslet) hair colour to express the relationship between Joel (Jim Carrey) in the memory he is re-living.

  • "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002) Jess (Parminder Nagra) wears the same colours as Tony (Ameet Chana) as they are both perceived as outcasts from there family and shows there strong friendship.

There are plenty more examples to name but I think I have made a clear enough picture that despite "Thoroughbreds" fantastic and breathtaking cinematography and sound it lacks to step too far out of the box when it comes to M.E.S and maybe it doesn't need to but never the less, in my opinion, a film shouldn't take away focus from one aspect because other aspects are better executed a good film tries to find a balance for them all.

In conclusion, "Thoroughbreds" is a needed standout from the everyday cinema today with its original dark plot with aspects from past and modern thrillers (The Shining and Get Out) and despite declining in focus in some film aspects it is by far one of the best films I've seen in the summer by having me confused, shocked, intrigued in every scene. 8 out of 10 stars is my personal rating for this fantastic Drama, Crime, Comedy masterpiece.

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