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Thoroughbreds (2017 film)

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Thoroughbreds
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCory Finley
Written byCory Finley
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLyle Vincent
Edited byLouise Ford
Music byErik Friedlander
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 21, 2017 (2017-01-21) (Sundance)
  • March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5.4 million[2]
Box office$4 million[3]

Thoroughbreds is a 2017 American black comedy thriller film[4] written and directed by Cory Finley, in his directorial debut. It stars Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks, and Francie Swift. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, and was released on March 9, 2018, by Focus Features and Universal Pictures.

Thoroughbreds follows high-school student Lily (Taylor-Joy) and her emotionless friend Amanda (Cooke) as they scheme to kill Lily's stepfather (Sparks) via contract with a drug dealer (Yelchin). The film received positive reviews, holding an 87% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, and a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

Plot

In suburban Connecticut, upper-class high schooler Amanda (Olivia Cooke) euthanizes her crippled horse with a knife, resulting in charges of animal cruelty.

Some time later, Amanda arrives at the home of the more popular and academically-inclined Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy). The girls had previously been best friends but grew apart after the death of Lily's father. They meet under the pretense of hanging out and having a casual tutoring session, but Amanda knows that her mother (Kaili Vernoff) has paid Lily to socialize with Amanda. Lily denies being paid, but Amanda, left emotionless by an unspecified mental disorder, is unfazed. Lily meets with Amanda again, this time voluntarily, and they rekindle their friendship.

Lily lives with her mother Cynthia (Francie Swift) and stepfather Mark (Paul Sparks), a wealthy and abusive man whom she hates. One night, Amanda asks if Lily ever thought about killing Mark, upsetting Lily. However, tensions flare between Lily and Mark when Mark enrolls Lily in a boarding school for girls with behavioral issues. After seeing him berate Cynthia, Lily reconsiders and calls Amanda about the notion of killing him. She proposes that Amanda perform the murder as she would be free of guilt while doing it. However, Amanda believes that her pending animal cruelty trial would make her an immediate suspect, and they decide instead to blackmail drug dealer Tim (Anton Yelchin) into murdering Mark while both of them are out of town. The night of the planned murder, Tim arrives on the property but leaves without killing Mark. The girls agree not to contact Tim again, as his own criminal history will prevent him from alerting the police. Lily impulsively prepares to kill Mark herself but is talked out of it by Amanda.

One night, Lily and Amanda are watching a film at home when Lily reveals that she has spiked Amanda's drink with Rohypnol, planning to stab Mark to death and frame Amanda. Lily attempts to back out of the planned murder, but Amanda willingly finishes the drink. While Amanda is unconscious, Lily murders Mark and rubs Amanda with his blood, crying and holding the unconscious Amanda for comfort.

Some time later, a recovered and confident Lily encounters Tim, who now works as a restaurant valet. Following Mark's death, Lily has once again found academic success and is interviewing for college admission. Lily gives Tim the tape which she was going to use to blackmail him. She then mentions a letter from Amanda, who has been institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital for Mark's murder. The letter is shown to detail Amanda's experiences at the institution and a recurring dream about a future in which the humans let the community fall into disarray due to their vanity and it becomes overrun by thoroughbred horses. When Tim asks what the letter said, Lily says she threw the letter away without reading it.

Production

The script, which Finley had expected to be produced as a stageplay, was instead acquired for production as a film by companies B Story (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, and Kevin J. Walsh) and June Pictures.[6][7]

In April 2016, Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy and Anton Yelchin were announced to have joined the cast. Finley would direct the film.[6][8]

Filming

Principal photography began on May 9, 2016,[9] in the Massachusetts towns of Cohasset, Tewksbury, Scituate, Westwood, and Wellesley,[10] concluding on June 5, 2016, 14 days before Yelchin died.[11] Finley said of his experience with Yelchin: "The whole experience was really amazing. As soon as he came on board, we had a great dinner, where we talked about film noir as a genre. He was very keyed into that aspect of this movie, he loved film noir. I felt really, like I knew nothing about movies, talking to him. He was also the sweetest guy, he would never make you feel less-than for not knowing these things. He was just delightful and funny from the beginning, he was awesome throughout and brought a jolt of energy."[12]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, under the name Thoroughbred.[13] Shortly after, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film,[14] retitling it Thoroughbreds later in the year, with some help from Universal Pictures.[15] It was released in the United States on March 9, 2018.[16]

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Thoroughbreds juggles genres with panache, delivering a well-written and refreshingly unpredictable entry in the teen thriller genre."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

References

  1. ^ "THOROUGHBREDS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 8, 2018). "Film Review: 'Thoroughbreds'". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2018. ...yielding a film that presents an image far richer than its mid-seven-figure budget might suggest.
  3. ^ "Thoroughbreds". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  4. ^ Stephens, David (November 30, 2017). "Thoroughbreds Trailer Promises a 'Razor-Witted' Dark Comedy". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Thoroughbreds Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 27, 2016). "Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy & Anton Yelchin Set For Thriller 'Thoroughbred'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Ehrlich, David (March 8, 2018). "'Thoroughbreds': How a 28-Year-Old Playwright Who Had Never Been on a Film Set Directed the Best Debut of the Year". IndieWire. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (April 28, 2016). "Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy to Star in Thriller 'Thoroughbred'". Variety. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  9. ^ SSN Insider Staff (May 13, 2016). "On the Set for 5/13/16: Paul Rudd Starts Rolling on 'An Ideal Home', Gal Gadot Wraps Shooting on 'Wonder Woman'". SSN Insider. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Sweeney, Emily (June 20, 2016). "Anton Yelchin was recently in Mass. filming 'Thoroughbred'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Taylor-Joy, Anya (June 5, 2016). "🐎THATS [sic] A WRAP🐎 #Thoroughbred". Instagram. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  12. ^ Stevens, Tyler (March 9, 2018). "Q&A: 'Thoroughbreds' Director Cory Finley". Washington Square News. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Patten, Dominic (December 5, 2016). "Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, 'Rebel in the Rye' & More on Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 22, 2017). "Focus Features Mounts 'Thoroughbred' For $5M: Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  15. ^ "Programme changes". BFI London Film Festival. September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Thoroughbreds Teaser Poster and Photos!". ComingSoon.net. October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  17. ^ "Thoroughbreds (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
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