Thoroughbreds (2017 film)

Thoroughbreds is a 2017 American dark 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 under its original title Thoroughbred at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, and was released on March 9, 2018, by Focus Features. It is the last U.S. theatrical release to star Yelchin, who died in June 2016.

Thoroughbreds
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCory Finley
Produced by
Written byCory Finley
Starring
Music byErik Friedlander
CinematographyLyle Vincent
Edited byLouise Ford
Production
companies
Distributed byFocus Features
Release date
  • January 21, 2017 (2017-01-21) (Sundance)
  • March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Budget$5 million[2]
Box office$3 million[3]

Thoroughbreds follows high-school student Lily (Taylor-Joy) and her emotionless friend Amanda (Cooke) as they scheme to kill Lily's stepfather (Sparks) via a contract with a drug dealer (Yelchin). The film grossed $3 million against a "mid-seven-figure budget"[2] and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the ambitious direction, screenplay, and performances, particularly from Cooke and Taylor-Joy.

Plot

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

Sometime later, Amanda arrives at the home of the more popular and academically inclined Lily. The girls were previously 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 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, and stepfather, Mark, who she hates. One night, Amanda asks if Lily has 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 Amanda would not experience guilt. However, Amanda believes that her pending animal-cruelty trial would make her an immediate suspect. They decide instead to blackmail drug dealer Tim into murdering Mark while the two girls 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 Lily's home when Lily reveals she spiked Amanda's drink with Rohypnol so she could stab Mark to death and frame Amanda. Lily attempts to back out of the plan, but Amanda, realizing a life spent without emotions is "meaningless," 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.

Sometime later, 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. They talk about the murder (though Lily lies about what really happened), and Lily mentions having received a letter from Amanda, who has been committed to a psychiatric hospital for the crime. The letter is shown to detail Amanda's life at the hospital, including a recurring dream about a future in which humans let the world fall into disarray due to their vanity, leading to it being overrun by thoroughbred horses. When Tim asks what the letter said, Lily says she threw the letter away without reading it.

Cast

Production

The script, which Finley had expected to be produced as a stage play, was instead acquired for production as a film by companies B Story (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, and Kevin J. Walsh) and June Pictures.[5][6]

In April 2016, Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy and Anton Yelchin were announced to have joined the cast. Finley would direct the film.[5][7]

Filming

Principal photography began on May 9, 2016,[8] in the Massachusetts towns of Cohasset, Tewksbury, Scituate, Westwood, and Wellesley,[9] concluding on June 5, 2016, 14 days before Yelchin died.[10] 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."[11]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, under the name Thoroughbred.[12] Shortly after, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film,[12] retitling it Thoroughbreds later in the year.[13] It was released in the United States on March 9, 2018.[14]

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 7.23/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Thoroughbreds juggles genres with panache, delivering a well-written and refreshingly unpredictable entry in the teen thriller genre."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

References
  1. "THOROUGHBREDS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  2. Debruge, Peter (March 8, 2018). "Film Review: 'Thoroughbreds'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. 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. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  4. Stephens, David (November 30, 2017). "Thoroughbreds Trailer Promises a 'Razor-Witted' Dark Comedy". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  5. Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 27, 2016). "Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy & Anton Yelchin Set For Thriller 'Thoroughbred'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  6. 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. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  7. McNary, Dave (April 28, 2016). "Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy to Star in Thriller 'Thoroughbred'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  8. "On the Set for 5/13/16: Paul Rudd Starts Rolling on 'An Ideal Home', Gal Gadot Wraps Shooting on 'Wonder Woman'". SSN Insider. May 13, 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  9. Sweeney, Emily (June 20, 2016). "Anton Yelchin was recently in Mass. filming 'Thoroughbred'". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  10. Taylor-Joy, Anya (June 5, 2016). "🐎THATS [sic] A WRAP🐎 #Thoroughbred". Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016 – via Instagram.
  11. Stevens, Tyler (March 9, 2018). "Q&A: 'Thoroughbreds' Director Cory Finley". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  12. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 22, 2017). "Focus Features Mounts 'Thoroughbred' For $5M: Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  13. "Programme changes". BFI London Film Festival. September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  14. "The Thoroughbreds Teaser Poster and Photos!". ComingSoon.net. October 6, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  15. "Thoroughbreds (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  16. "Thoroughbreds Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
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