Greta (2019) | Film Review

One good turn deserves another. It is a phrase that finds its roots all the way back to the 1400’s, much like some truly classical pieces of music. Today that phrase has sadly morphed into ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’. Funny how a phrase about doing a good deed out of kindness can be twisted into something really selfish.

What would happen if these two similar yet conflicting concepts collided? Focus feature’s psychological thriller Greta is just that melting pot of good deeds: selfish acts with a dash of suspense. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as Frances McCullen, a young adult making her way in the New York lifestyle while mourning the death of her mother. She rooms with her gal pal Erica (Maika Monroe), the more fun, better looking healthy lifestyle stereotype. Frances does what most New Yorkers do: waits tables, owns a bike instead of a car, and rides the subway, a lot. But since Erica is the rock-and-roll lifestyle in this film, it is Frances that gets pegged as the goodie girl next door.

One day on the subway heading home from her wait staff gig, Frances finds a bag and searches through it to see who its rightful owner is. I don’t know about you, but if I find a bag on the subway I am calling the cops, not looking for a driver’s license. Frances decides to seek out one Greta Hideg (Isabell Huppert), a widowed lady who loves to play piano and oozes with French culture. Ahh Paris! Greta shares some sad stories over cookies and coffee, and for a young woman missing her mother, an attachment is formed between Frances and Greta as the two begin spending time together.

Frances and Greta go out and rescue a dog from a no-kill shelter that they take on their walks together. The women share in some cooking lessons, as well as an occasional text or two back-and-forth. But one night as the two women share a meal together, which looks more like a mother-daughter scene then next door neighbor, the truth begins to unfold. I guess I really should have opened this review with the phrase, ‘no good deed goes unpunished’. Frances, now growing suspicious of Greta’s constant presence in her life, has to stay one step ahead of this French stalker who simply won’t take no for an answer. The  rest of the movie plays out with twists and turns you may be surprised to see in a fairly “cookie cutter” stalker thriller.

Sadly though, even at a refreshing 1:40 run-time, some of the sequences are drawn out and Moretz doesn’t do anything deep enough to make you care about her situation until the final act of the picture. Monroe is actually the more interesting of the femme fatales, almost making you wish their roles had been reversed. But it is Huppert’s Greta that steals the show as she is able to switch on the sweet old lady charm and then quickly dance ballet to classical music while waving a gun. Speaking of music, Greta uses a great score with a blend of pop songs to set the tone and keep you just off kilter enough to hold your attention.

Director Neil Jordan uses some really clever shot compositions to make you second guess what you are actually experiencing, both in the environment and the characters themselves. If you are looking for something to check out before the onslaught of superhero weekends begin, give Greta a try. Just don’t stay for the coffee and cookies.