In New York City, Two Lives Collide Through Sinister Means

Isabelle Huppert (left) and Chloë Grace Moretz in "Greta"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

There are many films out there about people having their lives turned upside by stalkers.  While you could have something as good as “Fatal Attraction” come out once in a while that focuses on this type of narrative, there are others that just set out to provide generic, disposable thrills. 

When I first saw the trailer for director Neil Jordan’s psychological thriller, “Greta,” it looked like it could fall victim to genre conventions.  But, with two talented actresses in the lead roles, I was thinking that this movie could offer more than what was on the surface.  However, despite a few highlights, “Greta” doesn’t go quite as far as it could have.

Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a young waitress living in New York City.  While riding the subway one day, she finds a purse that belongs to a woman named Greta Hideg (Isabelle Huppert).  When Frances goes to return it and meets Greta, the two begin a friendship.  However, Frances soon realizes that Greta may not be what she seems.

Huppert shows full dedication to her role, enjoying the campiness of the material and looking like she’s having a lot of fun with the character.  She nails the quietly menacing nature of Greta that hints at the depths of danger underneath her benevolent facade.  Despite the film not taking advantage of its ridiculousness, Huppert does her best to make sure that she gives this movie her all.  One of the noteworthy aspects of Huppert’s performance is that, for most of the time, she doesn’t go overboard with having her character act in-your-face crazy, but instead keeps her character restrained and shows her dementedness in an unsettlingly low-key way, making her unhinged persona more disquieting.

Moretz delivers a fine performance where she displays the kindheartedness that makes her character endearing and helps us fear for her when she ends up in the story’s perilous situation.  By the time this happens, Moretz is able to make her dread palpable as her character attempts to figure out her next plan for removing Greta from her life.

When it comes to the characters, you’re thankful that the two lead actresses are committed to their roles because you don’t learn much about Greta or Frances.  They could have been memorable characters, but they’re thinly written.

The screenplay by Jordan and Ray Wright establishes an enticing premise for its narrative, but the setup is the height of the story’s intrigue, rather than the events to which it leads because the movie plays out how you’d think.  There’s a moment that kicks off the third act that makes you believe that the story will transition into so-absurd-it’s-entertaining territory, but the screenwriters don’t commit to it and just have the film go back to its stalker-thriller conventions.  If it wasn’t for the strong performances and accomplished camerawork from Seamus McGarvey, “Greta” would feel like a Lifetime movie, and it doesn’t help that an anticlimactic ending comes out of what could have been a terrific showdown between the lead characters.

Jordan provides the film with some unsettling atmospherics, which are highlighted by McGarvey’s cinematography, but the story doesn’t provide enough chills to compliment the ambiance.  Jordan gives us an enjoyable moment here and there, but it’s not quite enough to separate the movie from other stalker-thrillers.

The fun sections in “Greta” are when it embraces its nonsensicalness.  It’s too bad that the movie, as a whole, doesn’t do the same.

Grade: C+