Do you envy Vulcans? That is to say would you prefer going through life without emotions? To friends and neighbors, that might be burdensome and off-putting, yes, but certainly a benefit in some arenas, no? In the family I grew up with, for instance, it was common knowledge that the first person to show emotion lost the argument no matter how salient the points they made. What if that were the criteria for all debate? I digress. This comes up because Amanda (Olivia Cooke) has no emotions. It’s ok, she just, “Has to work a little harder at being good.”
Yeah, let’s backtrack. Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda are both teenagers with secrets. The difference is Amanda doesn’t actually have secrets; it’s sort of a don’t ask/don’t tell kinda situation. If no one asks, it amounts to the same thing. Facing animal cruelty charges tends to alienate one from schoolmates, especially if Amanda shows no capacity for sympathetic emotional response. The funny thing is that often -through social conditioning- Amanda is able to display the correct response, just not out of sympathy. As Amanda has confessed to Lily her handicap, we know what’s going on, but most others do not. Lily is tutoring Amanda for the SATs, yet it’s clear from Amanda’s perspective that this is not about scholastic achievement so much as a desperate attempt by her off-screen mother to get some quality peer time. Lily has her own issues, having buried a father not long ago and currently kowtowing to a despised uber-rich step-dad.
That’s quite the odd couple, huh? The scarred step-princess and the blank slate “friend.” The screenplay enjoys exploring the girl without emotion. How does she react to the high-volume teen life? How does she react to pain or death? Oh, this is going to get dark, isn’t it? Hmmm, will Lily do her own dirty work or will she use Amanda? And stranger still, how will Amanda respond? She lacks emotions, but has compensated in several other ways. For one thing, she’s far savvier and intuitive than Lily; there’s no way she’s going to be a pawn in this scenario. And where does drug dealing drifter Tim (Anton Yelchin) fit in? Can the girls use him instead?
Sadly lost to us almost two years now, Anton Yelchin is having quite the Tupac-like post-life career. Much like most of this film, I wonder if this makes me jealous or horrified. I’m amused at the idea that –even in death- Anton is typecast as acting opposite a
character who has no emotions. How do you get locked into that career path? “I’m an actor and I will take any role, but with the caveat that somebody else in the cast has to have no capacity for emotion.” I daresay that’s not gonna land quality roles for most artists.
Ever since Heathers, I’ve been searching for that perfect teenage blur between peer pressure and psychopathology. I still think Mean Girls has come the closest since, clearly traveling the path yet forking away from the village of Homicide. Thoroughbreds had a chance. We know from the outset either Amanda is going to bend towards Lily or Lily is going to bend towards Amanda … and God help the world in which emotion no longer exists. Or is it God help the world in which only emotions exist? I liked the teens; I liked the character exploration, but the timeline is wrong. By the time the denouement occurs in Thoroughbreds, it’s almost cliché because of the lack of action within the film; Thoroughbreds gave no room for post-event character development. Hence, I’ll be waiting at least a few more films to find out if Heathers gets a 21st Century peer.
Two phillies seem more than willing
To undertake an idea, chilling
If you bet on the horse
Who feels no remorse
Surely, you’ll make a killing
Rated R, 92 Minutes
Director: Cory Finley
Writer: Cory Finley
Genre: Teenage cynicism
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Daughters of rotten stepdads
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Stepdads
