“I have a perfectly healthy brain. It just doesn't contain feelings. And that doesn't necessarily make me a bad person. It just means I have to work a little harder than everybody else to be good.”

Thoroughbreds is the astonishingly witty and much-deeper-than-presented 2017 directorial debut of Cory Finley. The rare comedy with something serious to say and the talent to say it, this is a showing that may have passed you by… but you should make the time to seek out.

Most closely relatable to another 2017 film, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore [but better by half] and driven by an even weirder natural chemistry between Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy, Thoroughbreds takes us on a journey that begins with two friends who have grown apart, and the strange, seemingly uncouth, happening that brings them back together. Through its cleverly paced chapters, however, we learn that not all is as it seems and the duo quickly find themselves hatching a plot.

On a technical level, Thoroughbreds is unlike any comedy I can think of. It presents itself closer to something like The Witch than it does the usual affair of comedic nonsense the genre puts out. It’s a serious movie that is funny by being smart and clever, rather than silly and frivolous. Like some of my other favorites of late, this is a film with something to say that you might have to work at a bit to catch. On the surface, it’s just a weird, almost The Addams Family-esqe, comedy with a premise darker than most. If you take the time to think about it and look it over though, there is a depth that goes beyond the quips and bobbles.

Now, this isn’t to say that the film is a horror-comedy like Housebound, it’s just a dark, sardonic-and-at-times-suspenseful comedy. I watched this alone and caught myself snorting and smiling even without someone to bounce the good times off of. Adding to this is a very weirdly conceived score that features wacky string sounds that shouldn’t work, strange vocal accompaniments, and heavy, almost tribal drums that drive scenes forwards [or pull them to a stop] and, making all of this work, is some picture-perfect editing that the genre rarely enjoys.

Cory Finley knocked this one out of the park, and I genuinely look forward to the continuation of his work. It’s difficult to make a film. It’s even harder to make one that has something to say. Harder still is finding the right way to present that without sacrificing your vision or being pretentious about it. Somehow though, that is exactly what Finley and co. have done here.

Usually, comedies get by with goofy jokes, impossible circumstances, wacky music, and shiny backgrounds. Thoroughbreds avoids all of these tropes with clever dialogue, strangely poignant social narrative, a score that feels perfectly at home next to award winning films with big names behind them, striking cinematography you’d swear came from one of Hollywood’s greats, and a conclusion that is both sharp, witty, and smart.

As its title suggests, Thoroughbreds truly runs a race of its own.

“You've got a creepy friend.
– I know.”