It's time to stop pouting over the Oscars014 Archivesget hyped up for another excellent year in movies. Now that you've presumably seen Black Panthermultiple times, start the spring off with Thoroughbreds, the most charming, arresting, and expertly fucked-up movie in quite some time.
Starring Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, and the late Anton Yelchin, Thoroughbredsis the story of childhood best friends Amanda and Lily, who reconnect as teens and comfortably indulge each other's darkest impulses.
SEE ALSO: Wrapped up in 'Lady Bird' feelings? Check out 'The Edge of Seventeen'As the trailer reveals, Amanda (Olivia Cooke) doesn't feel emotion. When she shares this with Lily, she notes that she does sometimes feel hungry or tired, but that she's never experienced sadness, guilt, or anything like that. Though played stoically by Taylor-Joy, Lily is bursting with suppressed emotions; failure, insecurity, and a sharp loathing for her stepfather Mark (Paul Sparks), who the girls resolve to murder.
Cooke is a revelation. To call Amanda "robotic" would be to oversimplify, insulting a delicate performance that stifles emotion out of necessity but doesn't compromise on humanity. She forges a genuine, believable connection with Lily without sneaking warmth into the performance. Taylor-Joy tells volumes about Lily through her eyes, burying it with upper-class posture and a quivering lip. As much as it unnerves her, Lily wants to be like Amanda.
Thoroughbredsis a movie that easily could have prioritized style over substance, trading actual depth of character for flashy visuals like, say, Neon Demon. Instead, under the guidance of first-time feature director Cory Finley, the film is sleek, streamlined, and enormously satisfying.
Finley originally conceived his idea as a play, so Thoroughbredsoperates on a micro level. The majority of scenes are just Amanda and Lily talking in a room, communicating as much with silence and glances as they do with their words. Everything else is by design: the sterility of Lily's home, the space between them, Lyle Vincent's striking cinematography, and the sound— not just an apoplectic score composed by Erik Friedlander intended less to shock than to rattle — but sound editing and mixing that make you feel like your senses have been turned up to 11.
Then, of course, there's Yelchin, in one of the last times we'll see him on the big screen. His character Sam is a convicted sex offender (he dated a 17-year old when he was 23) and known drug pusher (he's offering experiences!), but Yelchin brings a lightness to the role that balances the film out expertly. Inadvertently, perhaps — as Taylor-Joy pointed out at a Q&A in New York City — Sam becomes the film's moral compass. He's like a washed-up Charlie Bartlett with flashes of the old charm, and it's through him that we know not to underestimate these girls.
Thoroughbredsis getting quite the release for a film of this scale, and it deserves the attention. It's the tonal opposite of teen fare, with a killer combo of casting and execution — a film that makes you think without compromising on unbridled entertainment. In movies, that's the kind of pedigree we need.
Elon Musk reveals the first passenger SpaceX will send around the moon
Razer Basilisk V3 deal: Get $30 off at Best Buy
How to watch 'The Monkey': Where and when it's streaming
Get the Amazon Echo for $35 off
Mac Mini M2 Desktop deal: Save $100 at Best Buy
NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 15: Tips to solve Connections #204
Tech CEO promised AI but hired human workers, FBI claims
Best earbuds deal: Take $30 off the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds
Better Buy: Previous
Best Amazon Fire TV Cube deal: Save $30 at Amazon
The Made in America iPhone: How much would it cost?
'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 1: Tommy and Maria have a son?
The internet is talking like Kevin from 'The Office' now
Best Amazon deals of the day: Garmin vívoactive 5, Sony WF
The Beatles biopic casts all the internet's boyfriends in one movie
Get the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for $400 of at Amazon
Best Google Pixel deal: Save $300 on the Google Pixel 9 Pro
Blink Mini 2 deal: $19.99 at Amazon (save $20.99)
Things AMD Needs to Fix
NYT Strands hints, answers for April 12
California GothicThe Dark Side of the Jazz AgeOverproduction and Its DiscontentsBorrowed to the HiltThinking Like a MountainDegrowing PainsOverproduction and Its DiscontentsFemale FounderingBarnyard TalesAccessory after the FactRadical DilettantismThe Department of Songbird InvestigationsKeystone RaceMorbid SymptomsFighting Back in FlatbushRisk and RevolutionAgainst the ImpostersBig Bad WolfFresh HellThe Devil’s Milkshake 'Frozen 2' first reactions: Darker, catchier, and with cuter critters YouTube livestream of pregnant giraffe briefly pulled for nudity and sexually explicit content Margot Robbie's new ride looks straight out of the future Xiaomi’s 108 Chrissy Teigen is now a YouTuber Happy 'Stranger Things' Day! Here's a bunch of sweet video messages from the cast. New rules in China place limits on daily gaming time for minors Nearly 90% of the world's internet users are being monitored Please: You can come out as gay, you can't 'come out' as conservative Grandma sends pics to her granddaughter every day and we're not crying, you're crying Amber Tamblyn and David Cross have my permission to name all celebrity babies Hero cashier makes baby's shopping trip the best day ever This ‘Walking Dead’ shirt was banned from stores for racism Xiaomi's 108 Kellyanne Conway reportedly benched from TV by Team Trump Segway goes off road with its new electric dirt bike Elon Musk is back on Twitter after *checks notes* 4 days 'Tina: The Tina Turner Musical' showcases a Broadway powerhouse 'His Dark Materials' review: A gorgeous introduction to a complex world 'For All Mankind' never slows down enough to serve its clever premise
2.2583s , 10133.3828125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【2014 Archives】,Information Information Network