'Thoroughbreds' is a good film that falls just shy of greatness

It look me a few moments to understand fully why the new dark satire Thoroughbreds didn't totally work for me, especially since it contains so many elements I like -- some strong performances (particularly from the promising Anya Taylor-Joy and a scene-stealing one from the late Anton Yelchin), striking cinematography, black humor and a twisted plot. There is much to like about Thoroughbreds, but ultimately its Achille's heel is its uneven tone. It seeks to mock a very specific breed of privileged, white bourgeoise -- not unlike last year's Ingrid Goes West -- but unlike that film, which committed to being a breezy, mainstream comedy with the occasional hints of menace, this movie can't seem to make up its mind about whether it wants to make you laugh or scare you.

Unfortunately, it's not quite funny or shocking enough to be a game-changer, although the last act in particular introduces more depth to everything that's transpired earlier in the film and made me curious to see the next film from its writer-director Cory Finley, whose debut this is.

It's not the Heathers-esque romp that the trailers have advertised. Although it does revolve around teens who decide to seriously contemplate and then pursue murder, it's essentially a very deadpan character study about a popular girl who's home life leaves much to be desired (Taylor-Joy) and her unlikely friend, a self-diagnosed sociopath played almost too well by Olivia Cooke.

I say "too well" because Cooke's monotonous, unemotional, slow roll of a performance, while amusing at times, can also be a drag, making this stark and spare 90-minute film feel much longer than it has to.

The film is also hampered by its oddly incongruent score, which seems to be consistently hinting at a horror movie climax that never quite comes.

Still, there is a lot to admire about this movie. It does have some well-earned laughs and hypnotic camera work. It's a real testament to Yelchin's talent and charm (he's on-screen far too little for my tastes) and Taylor-Joy proves that after The Witch and Split, and now this, she has all the elements to become a major movie star. Besides being drop dead gorgeous, she is incredibly watchable because she is such an open and expressive actress. Although Cooke has more jokey lines, Taylor-Joy has the tougher, more nuanced role here.

I also really liked Paul Sparks' performance at Taylor-Joy's nasty father-in-law. His role could have been a nothing, an easy foil for the two lead women -- but instead, he actually gets to do some brilliant under-playing and delivers something akin to the movie's thesis statement when you least expect it.

This is a film that may grow in my esteem with some time and distance, there's too much quality writing and craftsmanship on display to just dismiss it wholesale, and of course, this time of year is usually the dregs when it comes to original cinema, so anything even relatively fresh or imaginative right now is welcome.

Although, I will say the emphasis for me is on 'relatively' -- since films about ennui among the white elite is not exactly brand new territory, and after the Black Panther phenomenon, can feel a little lacking.

Thoroughbreds, I think, wants to be making a grand statement about millennial malaise, and it may be onto something that a slightly better film may eventually capture to perfection.