Greta

As far as kidnapping thrillers go this is probably going to be about as bad as it gets this year. I would give Greta a 2/10.

This film follows Frances McCullen, a young woman who finds a hand bag on the subway and return it to the owner, Greta Hideg. The pair form an unusual friendship at first but upon discovering all is not as it seems with Greta, Frances finds her life turned upside down by this serial kidnapper. The film for the most part manages to set up some moments of good tension and even has a couple of scenes that subvert your expectations, such aswhen Greta is taking photos of Erica.

The best performance came from Maika Monroe, who played Erica Penn. This was one of the only characters in the film who didn't push their performance over the top or give a rather bland portrayal. Monroe really embodies her free-spirited party girl role, you constantly feel like this is a person who is present with a ton of energy. I felt like pennhad some of the best line delivery in the piece and her connection with Moretz felt like a very loyal everyday friendship. In the final act we get to see Monroe take centre stage as the saviour to the lead protagonist and it's probably one of the peak moments to watch; seeing one of the stand out roles triumph over the antagonist was brilliant.

Greta is a movie that tries to sell itself as a moderately realistic film, with a setting that you can recognise and a basic set up that isn't too far from something that can really happen. The flaw comes when the film tries to sell this to you but then immediately crafts something that is so very nonsensical it becomes hard to watch. The very nature of the relationship between Greta and Frances feels farcical, you can believe the initial meeting but once the friendship develops and even when it turns sour you have to wonder at a lot of what the plot is pitching. The film keeps stretching things further and further from any semblance of reason; should we believe Frances can honestly be as naive as she is depicted? Or how about how no avenues of authority seem to be interested in defending her against a very obvious criminal presence? The film quickly becomes tiresome to watch because you have to watch a story that has been done repeatedly, only this time what we get isn't unique but rather far-fetched. The film takes forever before Greta finally succeeds in kidnapping Frances and the way the feature explores her twisted sociopath psyche makes you feel like this is a character who has not been thought through at all; even watching her foil or respond to the various escape attempts in the third act is a nightmare. The cinematography is very muted, opting for a very simple style that shows the lack of imagination going into Greta. The editing sets the slow crawl for this feature, if you feel sleepy this is but one of a number of reasons contributing to that. The score for the film make me feel like I;m listening to a warbling french indie film; there couldn't be a more outlandish tone set for this movie.

Isabelle Huppert, who played Greta Hideg, really is all over the place throughout this film; I have to wonder if Huppert had any direction at all because she kept taking this performance to places where she probably needed to be given some much needed feedback. Chloe Grace Moretz, who played Frances McCullen, is rather underwhelming as the featured protagonist; Moretz plays to the innocent, overly naive nature of her role a bit too strongly that you feel like you're watching an incredibly stupid character. Colm Feore, who played Chris McCullen, just does not give a convincing portrayal of a father figure to Moretz; Feore seems devoid of emotion and even when Moretz's character is kidnapped you never see a strong reaction from him. Zawe Ashton, who played Alexa Hammond, doesn't really seem like she fully understands her role or what her purpose is in the film; Ashton awkwardly shuffles out some pithy exposition that just seems rather nonsensical. Stephen Rea, who played Brian Cody, comes into this film at the turn of the third act and is really rushed into the narrative; Rea comes across as a sleepy very mild-mannered private investigator considering the urgency of his role's assignment.